Koreas open high-level military talks amid sea border dispute

PANMUNJOM, Korea (AP) -- The two Koreas opened high-level military talks Tuesday, with a disputed sea border off the divided peninsula's west coast likely to remain a key sticking point.

Two-star generals are representing each side in three days of meetings at the truce village of Panmunjom in the middle of the Demilitarized Zone running between North Korea and South Korea.

The talks -- the highest-level regular dialogue channel between the two militaries -- are aimed at following up on agreements reached at a previous session in May. They include setting up a joint fishing area around the disputed maritime border off the peninsula's west coast and preparing security arrangements for joint economic projects near the border.

The two sides have since held three rounds of lower-level talks to discuss the agreements, but no progress has been made because North Korea repeated its long-running demand that the sea border be redrawn further south. This week's meetings could also see little headway if the North raises the issue again.

The border issue has been a constant source of dispute on the divided peninsula. North Korea does not recognize the current sea border demarcated by the United Nations at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Pyongyang claims the border is too far north and complains that vessels from the South often enter its waters. South Korea flatly denies the accusations.

North Korea's navy command has issued a series of warnings in recent months that a skirmish along the disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea -- the scene of deadly clashes in 1999 and 2002 -- could occur again unless South Korean vessels stop entering the North's waters.

The waters around the border are rich fishing grounds and boats from the two Koreas routinely jostle for position during the May-June crab-catching season.

The Korean War ended in a cease-fire that has never been replaced with a peace treaty -- leaving the two sides technically at war. E-mail to a friend

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