These were only the second talks between the defense ministers of the two countries; the first took place in 2000. They were aimed at paving the way for inter-Korean economic cooperation projects planned at last month's historic summit.

But the military talks were largely overshadowed by the wrangling over the Northern Limit Line, the U.N.-imposed line that has served as an inter-Korean sea border since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The sea border has long been a source of armed conflicts between the two Koreas. The North does not recognize the U.N.-set border, insisting on its own sea border further south, which includes lucrative blue crab beds in its territorial waters.

Tensions rise sharply in the border waters during the May-June and October-November crab seasons, when North Korean fishing boats often move south in search of crab beds, backed by patrol boats. The territorial sovereignty contest triggered an armed clash in 1999 and again in 2002 when the two Koreas traded naval gunfire that left dozens of casualties on both sides.

Any such skirmish now could complicate international efforts to end the nuclear crisis and set up a lasting peace regime on the peninsula, which is technically in a state of war as the Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The land border separating the two Koreas remains tightly sealed, guarded by nearly 2 million troops on both sides.

In an effort to prevent accidental clashes around the maritime border, leaders of the two Koreas agreed on Oct. 4 to create a joint fishing zone and let defense chiefs finalize the plan. Throughout the defense ministers' talks this week, however, the North demanded the joint fishing area should be established only south of the Northern Limit Line, rebuffing the South's proposal that each side provide the same amount of area around the sea border as a joint fishing zone.

The two sides barely avoided a rupture in the talks by agreeing to hold further meetings among general-level officials "at an early date" to continue negotiations on the fishing zone issue, according to South Korean officials who monitored the defense ministers' talks in Pyongyang.

"The two sides shared the view on the desperate need to designate a joint fishing area and peace waters to ease military tensions and prevent conflict in the West Sea," said the statement issued at the end of the talks. "The two sides have agreed to discuss and resolve this issue at South-North general-grade talks at an early date," it said.

The failed agreement on the joint fishing area is likely to hamper a plan to develop the North's southwest port city of Haeju, close to the Northern Limit Line, and its surrounding border area as a special economic zone, a project agreed during the summit talks. The development of Haeju could sharply reduce cross-border tensions as the port houses the North's main navy post.

Backward redeployment of the North's naval facilities would be necessary, to the "West Sea Peace Zone Project" that includes the joint fishing zone plan.

"It is undeniable that the push for the West Sea Peace Zone Project hit snags with the failure to agree on creating a joint fishing zone," a government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Despite the lack of progress on the joint fishing zone, the defense ministers agreed to form a joint military committee for regular consultations on confidence-building measures across the border. The committee will be headed by the vice defense ministers of the two countries.

They also agreed on security arrangements for other cross-border reconciliation projects reached at the summit talks. The defense ministers promised to provide a written security guarantee for the daily cross-border cargo train service scheduled to start on Dec. 11.

The next round of defense ministerial talks will be held in Seoul next year "at an appropriate time," according to the statement. But prospects appear dim as the North wants to use the military talks to forge a joint force against the United States, rather than seeking cross-border tension reduction.

"Efforts must be made to eradicate the U.S. hostile policy against the North," the North's people's armed forces minister told South Korean Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo during this week's talks.

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