Cambodia and Thailand's top defence officials began a meeting in Malaysia on Thursday to finalise a permanent end to hostilities following a violent five-day border conflict that ended in an unconditional ceasefire late in July.

Top defence officials of Thailand and Cambodia began talks in Malaysia on Monday to hold the ceasefire on the border, a week after the worst fighting broke out between the two Southeast Asian countries in decades.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Thailand and Cambodia agreed Thursday to establish interim observer teams to monitor a fragile ceasefire that ended five days of of deadly armed border clashes, even as the fate of 18 Cambodian soldiers captured by Thailand remains unresolved.