North South Korea demilitarised zone
© REUTERS / Kim Hong-Ji
South Korea and North Korea have raised yellow flags at 22 guard posts near their heavily fortified border as a first step to commence their dismantlement, local media reported on Sunday citing South Korean Defense Ministry officials.

The flags were hoisted to show that the guard posts are to be dismantled in accordance with an agreement reached at a third inter-Korean summit in September, according to the Yonhap news agency.

"This is aimed at enabling each side to observe the progress in dismantlement work so that it can be carried out in a transparent manner," a defense ministry official was quoted as saying by the agency.

In September, Seoul and Pyongyang signed a military pact that called for a gradual removal of guard posts "on a trial basis" from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.