The South Korean military will independently push ahead with inter-Korean plans for remains recovery in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) next week, the ROK Ministry of National Defense (MND) said on Friday, amid silence from North Korean counterparts over the project.

The two Koreas previously agreed to push ahead with joint remains recovery operations at a pilot site between April 1 and October 31 this year in a comprehensive military agreement signed last September.

But as the April 1 deadline loomed and with no response from the North on the project, the ROK MND on Friday said it was reviewing how to carry