Cambodian-Thai border talks set for January

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia will resume talks with Thailand over their disputed border in late January, as a tense military standoff at contested areas of the frontier enters its sixth month, national media said on Monday.

"The next meeting (of the Joint Border Commission) will be held in Thailand as agreed," Var Kinhong (pictured), Cambodia's top negotiator for border issues, was quoted by English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post as saying.

"The Thai parliament will hold internal discussion on the border issues first, and after they have approved (the agenda), the two sides will set the schedule," he added.

Cambodia and Thailand have never finally demarcated their 805-km shared border, but a meeting between both foreign ministers in November yielded an agreement to scale down troop numbers along the border and begin demarcation and demining operations from mid-December.

It was the most concrete progress made yet to resolve tensions on the border, which escalated after Cambodia first accused Thai troops of entering its territory in July, shortly after Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Editor: Yang Lina