North Korea reportedly offered to abandon a key weapon — and it has nothing to do with nukes

[Swordsmyth]

North Korean diplomats talking to South Korean officials in the demilitarized border zone between the two countries reportedly offered to remove the North's long-range artillery guns (http://english.chosun.com/m/svc/article.html?contid=2018061801132), which have been a dagger pointed at Seoul's throat for decades.
Before North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon, before it even built its first facility to create fissile material, its artillery had established a strong deterrent against South Korea and the US.
North Korea is estimated to have thousands of massive artillery guns hidden in hardened shelters among the hills and mountains (http://www.businessinsider.com/how-us-would-strike-north-korea-2017-3) of the country's rugged terrain. Artillery batteries located within range of the South Korean capital of Seoul could kill tens of thousands of people every hour if war were to break out.
Accounts in South Korean media differ over who exactly proposed the latest measure, but it came at a general-level military dialogue, which hadn't happened for over a decade before.

More at: http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-reportedly-offered-to-abandon-long-range-artillery-2018-6

[oyarde]

Good

[Swordsmyth]

The rival Koreas are discussing the possible relocation of North Korea's long-range artillery guns away from the tense Korean border, South Korea's prime minister said Monday, as the countries forge ahead with steps to lower tensions and extend a recent detente.

In a speech marking the 68th anniversary of the start of the 1950-53 Korean War, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said that "moving (North Korea's) long-range artillery to the rear is under discussion," as he explained what types of goodwill steps between the Koreas have been taken in recent months.
Lee's comments appeared to be Seoul's first official confirmation of media reports that South Korea demanded that North Korea reposition its forward-deployed artillery pieces during inter-Korean military talks on June 14. Seoul's Defense Ministry, which has denied those reports, said it had no immediate comment on Lee's speech.


On Monday, military officers of the two Koreas met and agreed to fully restore their military hotline communication channels, the South's Defense Ministry said.

The U.S. military said Saturday it moved 100 wooden coffins to the inter-Korean border to prepare for North Korea's return of the remains of American soldiers who have been missing since the 1950-53 Korean War. The two Koreas last week also agreed to restart temporary reunions of families separated by the war in August.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/removal-norths-artillery-border-under-discussions-034503634.html