A South Korean soldier indicates a guard post of South Korean side in Goseong-gun County, Gangwon Province, April 2018. Korea Times file

South Korea on Wednesday approved a budget necessary to build hiking trails inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, a project to turn the Cold War relic into a symbol of peace.

The unification ministry's Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Council, composed of government and civilian experts, approved 4.4 billion won (US$3.9 million) to be set aside for the project, according to the ministry.

The project is a follow-up to an inter-Korean agreement last September to come up with practical measures to turn the DMZ into a peace zone. In a related move, the two Koreas have since pulled out from 11 guard posts (GPs) each inside the area on a trial basis.

A North Korean guard post is seen from the South Korean guard post in Goseong-gun County, Gangwon Province, February 2018. Joint Press Corp

The DMZ, about 250 kilometers long and 4 km wide, is one of the world's most heavily fortified borders and is located between South and North Korea, which remain technically in a state of war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

The three trails will be built in Paju, Cheorwon and Goseong, located in the western, central and eastern regions along the DMZ, respectively. Those in Paju and Cheorwon will be connected to closed GPs inside the DMZ, while the other one in Goseong will be built along it.

The Goseong trail is expected to open first to tourists from late April on a test run, while the others will likely be available for tourists as soon as they are prepared.

Local Fiscal and Economic Policy Office Deputy Minister Kim Hyun-ki from the interior and safety ministry speaks about "DMZ peace trails" during a joint press conference by the ministries of the interior and safety, unification, national defense, environment, and culture, sports and tourism at Seoul Government Complex, Wednesday. Yonhap

The unification ministry said that the construction will be carried out with top priority to be placed on protecting the environment by using existing natural routes as much as possible.

The approved money will be given to relevant local municipalities, which will spearhead the project. It will be mostly used to build toilets, install security cameras along the trails and purchase safety equipment for tourists.

Despite recent closures of some GPs, safety concerns remain high for civilians who would travel there since South and North Korea still operate some 50 and 150 GPs, respectively, inside the DMZ. (Yonhap)