SEOUL, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The UN Command on Thursday approved the opening of two additional peace trails in the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which has divided the Korean Peninsula since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

The UN Command said in a statement that Gen. Robert B. Abrams, the commander of the UN Command and the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), approved the initial phase of two additional peace trails in the DMZ.

South Korea announced a plan last month to create peace trails in the South side of the DMZ in three border towns: Goseong, Cheorwon and Paju on the inter-Korean border's eastern, central and western sections each.

From the three sections, the withdrawal of a part of guard posts and the excavation of the remains of soldiers killed in the Korean War were conducted to ease military tensions across the border.

The 7.9 km-long Goseong peace trail was opened late last month to ordinary people on a trial basis. The Goseong trail did not include the DMZ section, but the Cheorwon and Paju trails would include the routes inside the South Korean side of the DMZ.

Once completed, the DMZ peace trails will increase the number of UN Command-approved educational sites to 16 in total, the statement said.

The peace trails were created to encourage inter-Korean exchanges and learning opportunities, the statement added.

The UN Command handles DMZ issues as the Korean War ended with an armistice agreement, not a peace treaty.