(LEAD) Koreas agree to jointly fight pine tree pests until March

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SEOUL/KAESONG, Oct. 22 (Joint Press Corps-Yonhap) -- South and North Korea agreed Monday to jointly combat pine tree pests and other tree diseases until March next year as part of efforts to intensify their forestry cooperation.

The agreement was made during talks held at their joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong.

"The South agreed to provide necessary drugs to combat pine tree pests in the middle of November. Their control of pests will continue until March," they said in a press release after the talks.

The talks were led by Park Chong-ho, deputy minister of the Korea Forest Service, and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Song-jun, a senior official of the ministry of environmental protection.

They also agreed to "modernize" 10 tree nurseries in North Korea within this year and pursue the modernization projection for other North Korean nurseries in phases, according to the press release.

In addition, they promised to work together to cope with forest fires and to seek cooperation in protecting ecosystems. The two will arrange seminars on forestry-related science technology and other topics.

kokobj@yna.co.kr
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