[Pyeongyang Press Corps]

PYONGYANG -- To remove the risk of war on the Korean peninsula, the two Koreas agreed to stop all artillery drills and field maneuvers by setting up a 10-kilometer buffer zone along their heavily fortified border at an inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang.The military agreement followed two-day talks between South Korean leader Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang. The agreement was signed by South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo and his North Korean counterpart, No Kwang-chol."Today, South and North Korea agreed to eliminate all the risks that could lead to war on the entire Korean peninsula today," Moon declared in a joint press conference Wednesday in Pyongyang, adding the two Koreas agreed to end military hostilities and the risk of war along the border and all other areas of the peninsula."By turning the Korean peninsula into a permanent peace (zone), we are now able to bring our lives back to normal," Moon said.Maritime, air and ground buffer zones in front-line areas will be set up and the two sides will quickly put a joint military committee into operation to hold regular talks on easing military tensions and preventing an armed conflict.The two sides will set up a 10-kilometer-wide buffer zone along the land border to stop military drills, along with a maritime buffer zone spanning around 80 kilometers (48 miles). A joint security area in and around the truce village of Panmunjom would be disarmed. The agreement calls for the withdraw of soldiers and weapons from 11 front-line guard posts each by the end of this year.The agreement followed a series of inter-Korean military talks, based on the so-called Panmunjom Declaration signed by Moon and Kim at their first summit in April to work on ending the status of war, stop all hostile acts against each other and turn the demilitarized zone (DMZ) into a genuine peace zone.Military talks have focused on deactivating concrete bunkers used by South and North Korean front-line soldiers as their guard posts.The DMA is a four-kilometer-wide strip of land that has divided the Korean peninsula since an armistice accord ended the 1950-53 Korean War.The buffer zone was originally set up to be clear of heavy weapons with border guards allowed to use only personal sidearms like pistols for patrolling to prevent any unnecessary clashes. However, North Korea has deployed mortars and large-caliber machine guns at 160 guard posts while South Korea has built concrete bunkers for guardposts in 60 places.The two Koreas have also discussed a project to turn Panmunjom, the symbol of division and acute Cold War confrontation, into a peaceful joint security area. Panmunjom encompasses an 800-meter wide enclave, roughly circular in shape and created as a neutral area. It is the only contact point inside the DMZ, surrounded by minefields and guarded jointly by North Korean and American soldiers carrying pistols, not heavy weapons, to prevent conflicts under the armistice accord.