The curator of the Korean Demilitarised Zone's (DMZ) museum on Monday said he hopes North and South Korea will reunite peacefully one day.

Noh Yeonsoo spoke as the Koreas are embracing a rare, Olympics-inspired reconciliation mood, after a year of heightened animosities over North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile programmes.

The countries agreed to form a single women's hockey team and have their athletes to parade together in the opening ceremony on February 9th.

The North also plans to send a 230-member cheering group and a 140-person art troupe to the South during the games.

The DMZ is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula, created during the Cold War.

It was established by the provisions of the Korean Armistice Agreement, signed in 1953 at the end of the Korean War, to serve as a buffer zone between the recently-created Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

It roughly divides the Korean peninsula in half, is 250 kilometres (160 miles) long, and about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) wide.

Armed forces and civilians are prohibited to enter the DMZ.

The zone stretches 2 km (1.2 miles) each way south and north from a ceasefire line but beyond that strip the border is one of the most heavily militarised in the world.

The Goseong Unification Observatory is located next to the Civilian Control Line, which designates an additional buffer zone to the DMZ within a distance of 5 to 20km (3 to 12 miles) from the Southern Limit Line of the DMZ.

Its purpose is to limit and control the entrance of civilians into the area in order to protect and maintain the security of military facilities and operations near the DMZ.

For 40 years, the DMZ has been strictly off-limits, leading to a formation of an unplanned nature reserve.  

This has become one of the most well-preserved areas of temperate habitat in the world.

Goseong – 5 February 2018

1. Goseong Unification Observatory

2. Drummer playing outside the observatory

3. Viewing theatre inside the observatory

4. Tour guide pointing to key areas of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on large photo banner and Civilian Control Line visible from the observatory

5. Viewing telescopes pointing out towards North Korea

6. Pan from viewing telescopes on outdoor balcony to East Sea coastline stretching from South to North Korea

7. Barbed wire fences of the Civilian Control Line protecting the now-disused Donghae Bukbu Rail Line and road connecting the two countries

8. Beach, DMZ and the Geumgangsan Mountain range in the distance

9. East Sea seen behind a viewing telescope

10. Pan across line of viewing telescopes

11. Barbed wire security fences and military watch posts in the Civilian Control Line

12. Donghae Bukbu Rail Line and road overlooked by a military watchtower

13. Statue of Buddha in a peace park next to the observatory

14. Pan from the peace park to DMZ area

15. Tourists taking photographs on a viewing point overlooking the DMZ area

16. Tracking shot along viewing point then looking out to the DMZ area

17. Pan from observatory tower to wide of coastline

18. DMZ Museum exterior

19. Tilt down to mock-up of DMZ security fencing inside the museum

20. Zoom in to DMZ warning sign inside the museum

21. Various of artefacts inside the museum including military helmets and bullets used during the Korean War

22. Various of a room made up of photographs of the victims of the Korean war

23. Pull out from DMZ Museum curator Noh Yeonsoo talking to a tour group

24. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Noh Yeonsoo, DMZ Museum curator:

(++answering question on whether the unified Korean team at the Winter Olympics could lead to a lasting peace between North and South Korea++)

++ROUGH TRANSLATION++

"I hope we can one day make a peaceful reunification and through these Winter Olympics we can create a good mood between North and South Korea."

25. Tree covered with peace messages written by the museum visitors

26. Visitor attaches peace message to tree

27. Written messages hanging off the tree

28. Noh Yeonsoo doing TV interview in front of peace messages

29. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Noh Yeonsoo, DMZ Museum curator:

(++answering question on whether locals are afraid of the nuclear threat coming from North Korea++)

++ROUGH TRANSLATION++

"I'm not afraid of anything because I look at North Korea every day from here, every morning. So, I would like the country to unify so I can go there by foot or by train, because we would be one country. I would like to go there and get along with the North Korean people."

30. Statue of a soldier inside the museum

31. Tilt down onto a shell from a North Korean missile in a display cabinet

32. Mock-up in museum of abandoned buildings in Cheonwon, a North Korean town destroyed during the Korean war and left abandoned by the subsequent dividing of the country

33. Pan of a display showing how the DMZ has now become a nature reserve

34. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Noh Yeonsoo, DMZ Museum curator:

(++answering question on whether Olympic athletes and spectators should come to the museum to get a better perspective on the divide between North and South Korea++)

++ROUGH TRANSLATION++

"I welcome the athletes to come here and learn about the history. I don't want to lie and tell them that North Korea isn't terrifying, in fact they are terrified. And there is still a dangerous atmosphere between North and South Korea. But I want to explain to them the reality of what is happening now in South Korea and tell them the facts. But I don't want to make the relationship get worse (between the two countries)."

35. Disused lights and speakers used (mainly until 2004) to broadcast propaganda, including K-Pop, towards North Korea across the DMZ

36. Pan from "DMZ Museum" flags to "PyeongChang 2018" flags with the disused lighting rig and loud speakers in the background

Two South Korean soldiers were injured on Tuesday in an explosion in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) located between two Koreas, a South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman told a news conference in Seoul.

The soldiers were on a search operation when the blast occurred and were sent to a military hospital with leg injuries.

The cause of the explosion was being investigated, although most probably it was a land mine, Kim Min-seok said.

AP TELEVISION

Seoul - 4 August 2015

1. South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok arriving for briefing to give comments on explosion at Demilitarised Zone (DMZ)

2. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Kim Min-seok, South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman:

"First of all, we are sincerely sorry about the accident occurred during the (search) operation (at the DMZ), and we hope for a rapid recovery of the injured soldiers. Although it seems that the incident was a land mine explosion, we quickly took immediate actions and it has been reported that the injuries are not life-threatening."

3. Journalists at briefing

4. Close of Kim

5. Wide of briefing

SHOTLIST

1. North Korean side seen from the South at the border village of Panmunjom

2. North Korean soldier looking at South side through binocular

3. Participants of a Panmunjom tour looking at border

4. Wide of North Korean soldier

5. Close of South Korean military police

6. Sign at the border, reading (English) "United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC) Conference Building"

7. US soldier and a South Korean soldier talking

8. Various of North Korean soldiers on North Korean side of Panmunjom

9. Sign on the North Korean side, reading (Korean) "panmungak"10

10. Tracking shot of Panmunjom

11. Wide of North Korean side with a flag poll seen from an observatory at border

12. Tourists looking at North side at the observatory

13. Wide of border

14. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Jeong Su-mok, 14-year-old Student:

"I hope the United States and China do not fight with each other, and I just hope that China does not get in the middle between the North and the South and play one against the other when dealing with North Korean issues."

15. Road near border

16. Wide of border

STORYLINE

The border village of Panmunjom, where South and North Korea directly face each other remained quiet on Wednesday, as Chinese President Hu Jintao travelled to the US to discuss security concerns including North Korea's nuclear programme with US President Barack Obama.

The US considers China a vital player in attempts to contain North Korean aggression against South Korea and its development of a nuclear weapon.

Recent flare-ups on the Korean peninsula, which led to military and civilian deaths and massive war exercises, were largely tolerated by China, despite happening in China's backyard.

China also wants the six nations involved in long-stalled disarmament talks return to the table and talk peace.

The six are the US, South Korea, Japan, Russia, China and North Korea.

Tension on the peninsula spiked after North Korea unleashed artillery shells on a front-line South Korean island near their disputed sea border,

killing four people.

The shelling came eight months after a deadly warship sinking that South Korea and the US have blamed on Pyongyang.

The North has denied responsibility for the sinking that killed 46 sailors, and it says the South provoked the island attack with nearby military drills.

The meeting between Hu and Obama also comes as North Korea pushes for unconditional talks with South Korea to ease tensions on the divided

peninsula.

South Korea has consistently dismissed calls by Pyongyang for negotiations and urged the North to show it has changed through actions, not words.

SHOTLIST:

Seoul - 17 July 2003

1. Briefing by South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Defence Ministry

2. Reporters at the briefing

3. Pull out from a map showing where fire was exchanged

4. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Major Lee Hong-ki, South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff:

"Today North Korean soldiers fired at our guard post on the DMZ (Demilitarised Zone). North Korean soldiers fired four rounds of (suspected) machine gun at our guard post at 6 a.m."

5. Various of the briefing

6. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Major Lee Hong-ki, South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff:

"In response, our (South Korean) soldiers fired back seventeen rounds of machine gun at 6:11a.m according to the rules of engagement. At the same time we issued a warning broadcast to North Korea. There has not been any response from North Korea until now. No casualties were caused by the North Korean soldiers' firing. Now the Joint Chiefs of Staff are investigating the possibility of intentional provocation."

File - DMZ, 1999

7. Various of South Korean soldiers patrolling Military Demarcation Line (MDL/border line) inside of DMZ (Demilitarised Zone).

8. Wide shot of North Korean guard post near MDL

9. Travelling shot of S. Korean soldiers point gun

10. Medium shot of an armed S. Korean soldier

Seoul - 17 July 2003

11. Map showing area where incident took place map

12. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Major Lee Hong-ki, South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff

"After the investigation and based on the result of the investigation, we will take appropriate measures about the incident."

13. Zoom out of Major Lee explaining the incident using the map

14. Cutaway

15. Major Lee explaining the incident

STORYLINE

There was a brief exchange of fire between South and North Korean soldiers along their border on Thursday.

The South Korean military said it did not suffer casualties.

It was not immediately known whether any North Korean troops were injured or killed in the firefight in the Demilitarised Zone, a buffer area that was created at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War to keep opposing armies apart.

Tension on the Korean Peninsula is high over North Korea's suspected development of nuclear weapons, though such shooting incidents in the DMZ are rare.

In recent years, however, negotiations and reconciliation efforts have moved forward despite such outbreaks of violence.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Dan Hetlage said "The Pentagon is aware of the incident but has no comment."

Major Lee of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North Korean fire came from a machine gun, and that the South was using a machine gun called a K-3.

Three of the North Korean bullets hit the wall of a South Korean guard post three-hundred meters away, according to the South Korean military.

The South Koreans issued a loudspeaker broadcast after returning fire, telling the North Koreans that they were in "clear violation" of the terms of the armistice that ended the Korean War.

"Immediately stop the provocation," said the broadcast.

The shootout occurred on a national holiday in South Korea that commemorates its 1948 Constitution. The Koreas were divided at the end of World War II.

Under the armistice, North and South Korean soldiers can patrol in the DMZ, but they are not allowed to move around with heavy weapons such as machine guns.

Lee, who did not give his first name, said the incident happened near the South Korean town of Yonchon, sixty kilometres (thirty-five miles) north of the South Korean capital, Seoul.

The nuclear dispute flared in October when U.S. officials said North Korea admitted it had a clandestine nuclear program in violation of a 1994 agreement with Washington.

The United States and its allies suspended fuel shipments promised under the 1994 deal, and Pyongyang retaliated by expelling U.N. nuclear monitors, restarting nuclear facilities and withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

SHOTLIST:

1. Japanese Defence Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba walking toward meeting room

2. Close-up of Ishiba signing a guest book

3. Panning from South Korean Defence Minister Cho Young-kil to Ishiba signing guest book

4. Various of Cho and Ishiba shaking hands

5. Close-up of Korean and Japanese flags

6. Various of the two leaders

7. Wide shot of the summit

8. Ishiba shaking hands with S. Korean military officials

9. Japanese officials listening to briefing by S. Korean soldier at Dorasan Observation post

10. Ishiba listening to briefing

11. S. Korean general giving briefing

12. Ishiba walking with S. Korean military officials

13. Wide shot looking towards North Korean positions

14. Close-up of Ishiba looking through binoculars

15. Railway construction site at DMZ

16. Wide shot of a town in North Korea

17. Wide shot of border area

18. Ishiba surrounded by reporters

19. Dorasan station sign board

20. Close-up of Ishiba

21. SOUNDBITE (Japan) Shigeru Ishiba, Japanese Defence Agency Director

"Movement to connect South and North Korea will become the foundation of a wish for national unification. But it is important to carry on two means, conversation and constraint, at the same time, keeping them in balance."

22. Railway at Dorasan station

23. Welcoming ceremony with honour guard at War Memorial Hall

24. Cho and Ishiba saluting honour guard

25. Medium shot of honour guard

26. Cho introducing officials to Ishiba

27. Zoom into Cho and Ishiba walking past honour guard

STORYLINE:

South Korea and Japan reaffirmed Saturday the importance of presenting a unified front in order to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue peacefully.

Defence Minister Cho Young-kil and Japanese Defence Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba held talks on North Korean-related issues and agreed on the need for close coordination in finding a peaceful resolution to the concerns arising from the North's suspected nuclear development programme.

The diplomatic tempo between the Asian neighbours has increased since the north announced plans to restart its nuclear programme.

On Friday Japan launched its first spy satellites to monitor North Korea's missile development and suspected nuclear weapons programme.

North Korea accused Tokyo of sparking a regional arms race and committing a hostile act with the launch.

North Korea earlier hinted it might test-fire a long-range missile in response, but Japanese officials said there was no indication it was being prepared.

During the talks, Ishiba stressed the need to maintain close ties on the international stage especially in fighting terrorism and giving support to the US-led war on Iraq.

The two sides also agreed on enhancing bilateral military exchanges not only to build up military trust but also to contribute to improving relations between the two neighbours. Cho agreed to make a trip to Japan next year to reciprocate Ishiba's visit.

Ishiba, who arrived in Seoul on Friday night for a three-day visit, met with Prime Minister Koh Kun earlier in the day.

Before the meeting with the South Korean Defence Minister, Ishiba visited the Dorasan Observation post and inspected railway connection construction work in the Demilitarization Zone (DMZ).

The United States led United Nations command in Korea brought a huge piece of a destroyed spy boat to a border conference with the North Koreans at Panmunjom. The wreckage was produced to prove claims that North Korean vessels intruded on South Korean waters. But, at this, the 394th meeting of the Armistice Commission the North Korean's shrugged off the incident, describing it as 'non-existant'. The Armistice Agreement between North and South Korea was signed on July 27, 1953, and brought a ceasefire to the Korean War. The agreement also facilitated the establishment of the Military Armistice Commission, an agency to supervise implementation of the truce terms. Meetings of MAC representatives from the United Nations Command and the Korean People's Army and Chinese People's Volunteers are held at the Joint Security Area, an eight hundred meter-wide enclave, roughly circular in shape, that bisects the Military Demarcation Line separating South and North Korea. The JSA is often called the "Truce Village," but is best known worldwide as Panmunjom, a village which was destroyed in the war but gained lasting fame as the site where the Armistice Agreement was negotiated, even though it was actually signed by the opposing commanders, General Mark W Clark, Commander-in-Chief, UNC, at Munsan south of the DMZ and by Marshal Kim Il Sung, KPA Supreme Commander, and Peng Teh-huai, Commander, CPV, at Kaesong in the north.

1. ms of UNC chief, Admiral Stephen Hostettler arriving

2. ms of North Korean chief delegate, Han Chukyung, arriving

3. ws and pan of exterior of hut with people looking in through

4. vs Hostettler spaking and others

5. vs of weapons and other evidence being shown

6. ws exterior of the huts

7. ms guards outside hut

8. vs of Chukyung speaking

9. vs of weapons and evidence in crates being laid out on road outside hut and the damaged boat

10. vs of an officer inspecting the boat

Film: Pos - Sound: Mute - Colour - NYFilm: No - LN Number: LN15486 - Available in HD

STORY

Both North and South Korea stated to clear landmines along their tense border on Thursday.

South and North Korean troops began demining in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), which has separated the two countries for nearly 50 years.

The next step will be to build a cross-border railway and a parallel road through the western sector of the four kilometre (2.5 mile) wide demilitarized zone, as agreed at an inter-Korean summit in 2000.

The two sides agreed to build another set of rail and road links through the eastern sector of the border.

Military cooperation is essential to the transportation links, because they will run through the mine-strewn border.

The Korean border is the world's most heavily armed frontier and guarded by nearly two (m) million troops on both sides.

Past inter-Korean agreements or projects often fell through when military tension flared.

The last train across the border ran shortly before the Korean War started in 1950.

SHOWS

1. Wide shot of military vehicles at the border line before land mine clearing works began

2. South Korean soldiers

3. Military vehicles moving toward the border line

4. Tilt up from railway to excavator moving toward the border line at southern part

5. Tilt up from land mine clearing equipment to soldiers

6. Wide shot of South Korean soldiers opening wire door at border line in southern part at DMZ

7. Close up of land mine breaker ready to move to inside of the border line

8. Land mine breaker moving into the inside of the border line

9. Close up of S. Korean soldier inside of a security check booth

10. Wide shot of land mine breaker inside of DMZ

11. Close up of land mine breaker

12. South Korean military giving briefing

13. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Lieutenant Col. Kim Hye-hwan, Chief of Staff:

"We start land mine clearance works today and will complete the reconnecting construction at the end of this year. Before the roadbed construction team is mobilized, land mine clearing team will be mobilized and remove land mines."

14. Wide shot of South Korea's border line in DMZ

15. Various of South Korean military reconnoitering team checking guns before entering the inside of the southern part of DMZ

16. Various shots of S. Korean military reconnoitering team and land mine clearing team entering the inside of southern part of DMZ through the border line

17. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) by Lieutenant Col. Chang Dong-geun:

"We start land mine clearing works today. Our soldiers, including myself, have high morale. Until the end of our work we will do our best to complete the construction, keeping safety as the priority in our works."

18. Close up of railway not connected

19. Wide shot of the border line where the Gyeongui railway has been disconnected

20. Close up of road sign directing Seoul and Pyongyang

21. Zoom into South Korean soldiers roadbed construction for Gyeongui road near the border line

22. Soldiers having meeting

23. Wide shot of road bed construction

The United States and South Korea on Friday held a ceremony to hand over remains of two servicemen killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Seoul's Defence Ministry said that the remains of an unidentified UN soldier found in South Korea in 2016 will be sent to the United States.

Meanwhile, the US military has brought to Seoul the remains of a South Korean soldier, identified as Yoon Kyung-hyuk, found in North Korea in 2001 during a joint search between the United States and North Korea.

The ceremony, which was attended by US Forces Korea Commander Vincent Brooks and South Korean Defence Minister, Song Young-moo, came a day after talks between the United States and North Korea over the return of US war remains were postponed.

Seoul's Foreign Ministry says the North requested talks at a higher level.

Seoul - 13 July 2018

1. Wide of repatriation ceremony

2. Pan of South Korean soldiers and US soldiers saluting coffins of a South Korean soldier and a UN forces soldier

3. Wide of US and South Korean military officials saluting

4. US Forces Korea Commander, Vincent Brooks

5. Tilt-up of South Korean Defence Minister Song Young-moo

6. Wide of ceremony

7. Brooks preparing for speech

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Vincent Brooks, Commander of US Forces Korea:

"Our solemn obligation to remember is the least of our responsibilities. The greater responsibility is to account for every one of them and return them to their families, bringing to an end the years of uncertainty and anguish."      

9. Wide of coffins, one wrapped in South Korean flag, the other in UN flag

10. Wide of ceremony

11. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Song Young-moo, South Korean Defence Minister:

"It will be a difficult journey but our efforts to finds the remains of heroes will open another path towards the establishment of peace. The discussion is underway to repatriate the remains of US soldiers, which were found in North Korea. And one day, I hope that the South and North can jointly excavate remains inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)."

12. Wide of soldiers entering to carry the coffins away

13. Wide of officials bowing their heads in silence

14. Various of soldiers carrying the coffins out of building as officials salute

A ceremony was held on Monday at the truce village of Panmunjom to mark the armistice that ended fighting in the Korean War more than six decades ago.

The event was led by officials from The United Nations Command (UNC) and the United States Forces Korea (USFK).

At a news conference, Lieutenant General Terrence O'Shaughnessy, United Nations Command's Deputy Commander, said North Korea's pursuit of "nuclear weapons, long-range ballistic missiles and proliferation of weapons and violations of UN Security Council Resolutions continues to threaten stability in this region and in the world."

A senior member of the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission, Chang Kwang-hyun, also urged the North to seek "a peaceful unification" of the two Koreas.

The agreement on 27 July 1953 brought the three-year Korean war to an end with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

AP TELEVISION

Panmunjom - 27 July 2015

1. Officials standing in front of the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarised zone (DMZ)

2. North Korean soldiers taking photos of the South side

3. Officials taking group photos including the United Nations Command's Deputy Commander and deputy commander of USFK (United States Forces Korea) Seventh Air Force Lieutenant General Terrence O'Shaughnessy (fifth from right), Major General Urs Gerber, NNSC (Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission) Suisse delegation (fourth from right) and senior member United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission, Chang Kwang-hyun (seventh from right)

4. Pan up from Military Demarcation Line to North Korean soldiers taking photos

5. Wide of Panmungak building, on the North Korean side of Panmunjom

6. Close of North Korean soldier

7. Chang, O'Shaughnessy, and Gerber (from left to right) and North Korean soldiers in the background

8. National flags including the US, South Korean and United Nations ones

9. Cutaway of audience

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Lieutenant General Terrence O'Shaughnessy, United Nations Command's Deputy Commander and Deputy Commander of USFK Seventh Air Force:

"Today, the armistice reflects the enduring commitment to the international community to preserve peace and stability. Its maintenance continues to be a complex task especially when dealing with the provocative actions of North Korea. The nation's pursuit of nuclear weapons, long-range ballistic missiles and proliferation of weapons and violations of UN Security Council Resolutions continues to threaten stability in this region and in the world."

11. Cutaway of audience

12. Chang arriving at lectern for speech

13. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Chang Kwang-hyun, senior member, United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission:

"(As a major general), I hope and urge the North to realise our will to abide by the ceasefire agreement and seek a peaceful unification, so that they can discard reckless and hostile attitudes and come out to the negotiation table to discuss peaceful measures that could relieve military tension on the Korean Peninsula."

14. Wide of hall

15. North Korean soldiers taking photos

16. US soldier standing behind South Korean military policeman

17. Wide of Panmunjom

18. Close of North Korean soldiers taking photos

19. North Korean guard post

20. North Korean soldier on guard

21. North and South Korean soldiers facing each other

22. Wide of Panmunjom