The two Koreas opened working-level military talks Friday in the truce village of Panmunjeom to devise ways to prevent military clashes in the West Sea.

A South Korean Defense Ministry official said that the two sides will discuss how to implement the agreement reached at last month's inter-Korean general-level talks. When they met May eighth to the eleventh, the two sides agreed to create a joint fishing zone in the West Sea and provide safety guarantees for inter-Korean cooperation projects, while also widening access to the North Korean port of Haeju by allowing ships from the North to cross into South Korean waters when going to and from the western port.

Seoul is expected not to raise the issue of Pyongyang’s missile tests on May 25th and June seventh, as it has concluded that they were part of routine military exercises.