Ministry dismisses claim that West Sea buffer zone puts S. Korea at disadvantage

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- The defense ministry on Thursday dismissed the claim that South Korea is put at a disadvantage by the new West Sea buffer zone jointly set with North Korea to reduce military tensions and prevent accidental naval clashes.

During this week's Pyongyang summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the two sides agreed on a series of conventional arms control measures, including setting the buffer zone spanning around 80 kilometers in the East Sea and 135 km in the West Sea.

Critics said that the buffer zone has been demarcated in favor of the communist state as its size in South Korea's waters in the West Sea is about 35 km larger.

The defense ministry, however, argued that in terms of the lengths of the coastal lines, the buffer zone is not set disadvantageously for the South.

"The length of the North's West Sea coastal lines within the buffer zone is about 270 km while the length of the South's coastal lines is less than 100 km," an official at Seoul's defense ministry told reporters.

The official also pointed out that the number of the North's coastal artillery pieces within the buffer zone is six times more than that of the South.

"The agreement (on the buffer zone) is to prevent mutual misunderstandings, accidental clashes or hostile acts, not to argue about who is at an advantage or disadvantage," the official added.

Aside from the maritime buffer zones, the two Koreas also agreed to set aerial and ground buffer zones to halt all hostile acts against each other "in all spaces."

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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