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.

Cambodia and Thailand agreed to maintain a ceasefire and allow neutral monitors, as the US cited a “high level of distrust” between the Southeast Asian neighbors after their deadliest border clashes in decades.

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.