U.S. army observers and reporters watched as 100 South Korean troops with mine-clearing vehicles filed into the DMZ through a gate in high fences topped with razor wire.

A similar event was scheduled in the reclusive North, which has shown signs of coming out of its shell since the United States dubbed it a member of an "axis of evil" with Iraq and Iran after declaring a war on terror.

"Neither of us know where the mines are," said South Korean lieutenant-colonel Kim Hye-won. "We are being very careful."

The soldiers' job is to clear a swathe of ground about 100 yards wide and 1.2 miles long to the midpoint of the DMZ while North Korean troops do the same on their side. They will then build a road, railway and power lines.

The same work will take place on the eastern coast of the peninsula, a rugged and thinly populated area which includes many of the two Koreas' most scenic mountains.

The DMZ is a no man's land littered with land mines buried during the 1950-53 Korean War and afterwards.

Under strict rules agreed to avoid incidents, the two Koreas' minesweepers will work on alternate days, with a limit of 100 soldiers per side at a time, each man allowed to carry only 30 rounds of ammunition.

OLD AND NEW MINES

Shifting during decades of floods has rendered maps of the mines useless and soldiers have been killed or wounded despite well-marked paths warning of the danger.

Guides on tours to the edge of the DMZ tell tourists that animals in the DMZ are limited to those too light to trigger the mines. Biologists count dozens of rare species in the DMZ.

"We are burying a history marked by the scars of war and the pain of division," South Korean Acting Prime Minister Kim Suk-soo told dignitaries at a ribbon-cutting ceremony a day earlier.

The two Koreas remain technically at war because the Korean War ended in an armed truce.

This week's start to construction means routes closed for half a century could reopen by the end of the year.

A South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman said clearing the mines would take several months and winter weather toward the end of the year could hamper the work.

"Some of the mines are old, dating back to the Korean War, and some were placed recently," he said.

The spokesman said the number of mines in the zone was a state secret. But the local Yonhap news agency published an estimate that 1,500 mines must be cleared for the west coast corridor and another 400 in the east.

STUNNING DIPLOMATIC DEVELOPMENTS

Wednesday, fireworks marked ceremonies as the long-time rivals prepared to begin chipping away at their frontier.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Jacques Chirac sent messages to South Korea's President Kim Dae-jung hailing the event.

China offered praise and ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who helped end communism in Eastern Europe, sent congratulations.

The rail links promise to join South Korea with Europe via both China and Russia, cutting freight costs for manufacturers along the route.

"On the occasion of the start of work on the railway lines, I will ask for ASEM members' interest and cooperation on the 'Iron Silk Road' linking Europe and Asia," Kim Dae-jung said, referring to the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Copenhagen next week.

Prospects for running railways through one of the world's most isolated countries come as part of an astonishing array of diplomatic developments centered on North Korea this week.

At a summit in Pyongyang Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il apologized to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for the abduction of Japanese citizens and offered concessions on global security. Koizumi apologized for Japan's occupation of Korea before and during World War II.

Thursday, Koizumi told a news conference that North Korea had said at the summit it would allow international inspectors into the country to examine its nuclear program.

The rail idea began at an historic summit in June 2000 between the South's Kim Dae-jung and the North's Kim Jong-il, also held in Pyongyang.

Copyright Reuters 2002. All rights reserved. Any copying, re-publication or re-distribution of Reuters content or of any content used on this site, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without prior written consent of Reuters.

Quotes and other data are provided for your personal information only, and are not intended for trading purposes. Reuters, the members of its Group and its data providers shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the quotes or other data, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

?Reuters 2002. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

(China Daily September 19, 2002)