View source for Korean Demilitarized Zone

{{Short description|North-South Korean border barrier}}
{{lead too short|date=May 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name          = Korean Demilitarized Zone
| native_name   = {{noitalics|{{lang|ko|한반도 비무장 지대}}}}
| image         = 070401 Panmunjeom3.jpg
| caption       = View of the North from the southern side of the [[Joint Security Area]]
| location      = [[Korea|Korean Peninsula]]
| image_map     = Korea DMZ.svg
| image_map_caption = The Korean DMZ is denoted by the red highlighted area. The blue line indicates the international border. The four [[#Incursion tunnels|incursion tunnels]] are also shown.
| type          = [[Demilitarized zone|DMZ]]
| builder       = {{plainlist|
*{{flag|China}}
*{{flag|United States}}
*{{flag|Democratic People's Republic of Korea}}
*{{flag|Republic of Korea|1949}}
*{{flagdeco|United Nations}} [[United Nations Command]]
 }}
| length        = {{cvt|238|km|mi|sp=us}}
| used          = Since {{start date|1953|07|27|df=y}} ({{Time ago|Jul 27 1953|min_magnitude=years}})
| condition     = Fully manned and operational
| open_to_public = Access granted by North Korea or United Nations Command
| events        = [[Division of Korea]]
| module        = {{Infobox Korean name/auto
 |child         = yes
 |hangul        = ^한반도 비무장 지대
 |hanja         = 韓半島非武裝地帶
  }}
}}
{{Campaignbox Korean Cold War}}
The '''Korean Demilitarized Zone''' ({{Korean|hangul=한반도 비무장 지대}}) is a heavily militarized strip of land running across the [[Korea|Korean Peninsula]] near the [[38th parallel north]]. The [[demilitarized zone]] (DMZ) is a [[border barrier]] that divides the peninsula roughly in half. It was established to serve as a [[buffer zone]] between the sovereign states of the [[North Korea|Democratic People's Republic of Korea]] (North Korea) and the [[South Korea|Republic of Korea]] (South Korea) under the provisions of the [[Korean Armistice Agreement]] in 1953, an agreement between North Korea, [[China]], and the [[United Nations Command]].

The DMZ is {{convert|250|km|mi|sp=us}} long and about {{convert|4|km|mi|sp=us}} wide. There have been [[List of border incidents involving North and South Korea|various incidents in and around the DMZ]], with military and civilian casualties on both sides. Within the DMZ is a meeting point between the two Korean states, where negotiations take place: the small [[Joint Security Area]] (JSA) near the western end of the zone.

{{TOC limit|3}}

==Location==
{{See also|Military Demarcation Line}}
[[File:Korean Peninsula at night 20240124 132602 GMT Iss-070e080670.jpg|thumb|right|The Korean Demilitarized Zone is visible at night from space because of a noticeable lack of lighting in the northern half of the [[Korea|Korean Peninsula]].]]

The Korean Demilitarized Zone intersects but does not follow the [[38th parallel north]], which was the border before the [[Korean War]]. It crosses the parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and the east end lying north of it.

The DMZ is {{cvt|250|km|mi|sp=us}} long,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=3660 |title=Korean Demilitarized Zone: Image of the Day |date=28 July 2003 |publisher=NASA Earth Observatory |access-date=2010-03-26 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316031349/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=3660 |archive-date=16 March 2010}}</ref> approximately {{cvt|4|km|mi}} wide. Though the zone itself is demilitarized, the zone's borders on both sides are some of the most heavily militarized borders in the world.<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/06/24/the-worlds-most-dangerous-borders/ |title=The world's most dangerous borders |first=Philip |last=Walker |magazine=Foreign Policy |date=24 June 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308153821/http://foreignpolicy.com/2011/06/24/the-worlds-most-dangerous-borders/ |archive-date=8 March 2017}}</ref> The [[Northern Limit Line]], or NLL, is the disputed maritime [[demarcation line]] between North and South Korea in the [[Yellow Sea]], not agreed in the armistice. The coastline and islands on both sides of the NLL are also heavily militarized.<ref>Elferink, Alex G. Oude. (1994). {{Google books|x-VYb-wida8C|''The Law of Maritime Boundary Delimitation: a Case Study of the Russian Federation''|page=314}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|Division of Korea}}

[[File:Korea demilitarized zone map - 1969.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Detail of the DMZ]]
[[File:KPA3-2a.jpg|thumb|A portion of the North Korean DMZ seen from the [[Joint Security Area]] in January 1976]]

The 38th parallel north—which divides the Korean Peninsula roughly in half—was the original boundary between the United States and Soviet Union's brief administration areas of Korea at the end of [[World War II]]. Upon the creation of the North Korea (formally the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK) and South Korea (formally the Republic of Korea or ROK) in 1948, it became a ''de facto'' international border and one of the most tense fronts in the [[Cold War]].

Both the North and the South remained dependent on their sponsor states from 1948 to the outbreak of the Korean War. That conflict, which claimed over three million lives and divided the Korean Peninsula along ideological lines, commenced on 25 June 1950, with a full-front DPRK invasion across the 38th parallel, and ended in 1953 after international intervention pushed the front of the war back to near the 38th parallel.

In the [[Korean Armistice Agreement|Armistice Agreement]] of 27 July 1953, the DMZ was created as each side agreed to move their troops back {{convert|2000|m|mi|abbr=in}} from the front line, creating a buffer zone {{cvt|4|km|mi}} wide. The [[Military Demarcation Line]] (MDL) goes through the center of the DMZ and indicates where the front was when the agreement was signed.

Owing to this theoretical stalemate, and genuine hostility between the North and the South, large numbers of troops are stationed along both sides of the line, each side guarding against potential aggression from the other side, even {{Age|1953|July|27}} years after its establishment. The armistice agreement explains exactly how many military personnel and what kind of weapons are allowed in the DMZ. Soldiers from both sides may patrol inside the DMZ, but they may not cross the MDL. [[List of border incidents involving North and South Korea|Sporadic outbreaks of violence]] in and around the border have killed over 500 South Korean soldiers, 50 American soldiers and 250 North Korean soldiers along the DMZ between 1953 and 1999.<ref>{{cite news |last=Potts |first=Rolf |title=Korea's no-man's-land |url=http://www.salon.com/1999/02/03/feature_115/ |work=Salon |access-date=31 January 2013 |date=3 February 1999 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215050040/http://www.salon.com/1999/02/03/feature_115/ |archive-date=15 February 2013}}</ref>

[[Daeseong-dong]] (also written ''Tae Sung Dong'' and known as "Freedom Village"), in South Korea, and [[Kijong-dong|Kijŏng-dong]] (also known as the "Peace Village"), in North Korea, are the only settlements allowed by the armistice committee to remain within the boundaries of the DMZ.<ref name="Tae">{{cite news |url=http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52586 |title=DMZ sixth-graders become graduates |newspaper=[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]] |date=2008-02-19 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611232350/http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52586 |archive-date=11 June 2009}}</ref> Residents of Tae Sung Dong are governed and protected by the [[United Nations Command]] and are generally required to spend at least 240 nights per year in the village to maintain their residency.<ref name = "Tae"/> In 2008, the village had a population of 218 people.<ref name = "Tae"/> The villagers of Tae Sung Dong are direct descendants of people who owned the land before the 1950–53 Korean War.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.army.mil/article/16093/santa-mobbed-by-students-during-visit-to-joint-security-area/ |title=Santa mobbed by students during visit to Joint Security Area |publisher=army.mil.com -The Official U.S. Army Website |access-date=2009-12-11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091124043626/http://www.army.mil/-news/2009/01/26/16093-santa-mobbed-by-students-during-visit-to-joint-security-area/ |archive-date=24 November 2009}}</ref>

To continue to deter North Korean incursion, in 2014 the United States government exempted the Korean DMZ from its pledge to eliminate [[Anti-personnel mine|anti-personnel landmines]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/09/24/why-the-korean-peninsula-keeps-landmines/ |title=Why the Korean Peninsula Keeps Land Mines |last=Kwaak |first=Jeyup S |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=24 September 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924070350/https://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/09/24/why-the-korean-peninsula-keeps-landmines/ |archive-date=24 September 2014}}</ref> On 1 October 2018, however, a 20-day process began to remove landmines from both sides of the DMZ.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/01/north-south-korea-begin-removing-landmines-along-fortified-border/ |title=North and South Korea begin removing landmines along fortified DMZ |agency=Reuters |date=2018-10-01 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=2018-11-19 |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=2 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002012836/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/01/north-south-korea-begin-removing-landmines-along-fortified-border/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Joint Security Area==
{{main|Joint Security Area}}
[[File:Joint Security Area from North Korea.jpg|thumb|Conference Row seen from the northern side of the [[Joint Security Area|JSA]]]]
Inside the DMZ, near the western coast of the peninsula, [[Panmunjeom]] is the home of the Joint Security Area (JSA). Originally, it was the only connection between North and South Korea<ref>{{cite web |url=http://imcom.korea.army.mil/imakoroweb/sites/local/news/020808_IMCOMK_DMZ.asp |title=Panmunjon |publisher=army.mil.com |access-date=2009-12-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090905081008/http://imcom.korea.army.mil/imakoroweb/sites/local/news/020808_IMCOMK_DMZ.asp |archive-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> but that changed on 17 May 2007, when a [[Korail]] train went through the DMZ to the North on the new [[Donghae Bukbu Line]] built on the east coast of Korea. However, the resurrection of this line was short-lived, as it closed again in July 2008 following an incident in which a South Korean tourist was shot and killed.

The JSA is the location of the famous [[Bridge of No Return]], over which prisoner exchanges have taken place. There are several buildings on both the north and the south side of the MDL, and there have been some built on top of it. All [[Inter-Korean summits|negotiations]] since 1953 have been held in the JSA, including statements of Korean solidarity, which have generally amounted to little except a slight decline of [[Inter-Korean conflict|tensions]].

Within the JSA are a number of buildings for joint meetings called Conference Rooms. The MDL goes through the conference rooms and down the middle of the conference tables where the North Koreans and the United Nations Command (primarily South Koreans and Americans) meet face to face.

Facing the Conference Row buildings are the North Korean ''[[Panmungak]]'' ({{langx|en|Panmun Hall}}) and the South Korean [[Freedom House (Joint Security Area)|Freedom House]]. In 1994, North Korea enlarged Panmungak by adding a third floor. In 1998, South Korea built a new Freedom House for its [[Red Cross]] staff and to possibly host reunions of families separated by the Korean War. The new building incorporated the old Freedom House Pagoda within its design.

Since 1953 there have been occasional confrontations and skirmishes within the JSA. The [[Korean axe murder incident|axe murder incident]] in August 1976 involved the attempted trimming of a tree which resulted in two deaths ([[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]] Arthur Bonifas and [[First Lieutenant]] Mark Barrett). Another incident occurred on 23 November 1984, when a Soviet tourist named [[Vasily Matuzok]] (sometimes spelled Matusak), who was part of an official trip to the JSA (hosted by the North), ran across the MDL shouting that he wanted to defect to the South. As many as 30 North Korean soldiers pursued him across the border, opening fire.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/korea/general-revisits-deadly-1984-thanksgiving-firefight-at-dmz-1.161443 |title=General revisits deadly 1984 Thanksgiving firefight at DMZ |work=Stars and Stripes |access-date=13 March 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309182210/http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/korea/general-revisits-deadly-1984-thanksgiving-firefight-at-dmz-1.161443 |archive-date=9 March 2016}}</ref> 
Border guards on the South Korean side returned fire, eventually surrounding the North Koreans. One South Korean and three North Korean soldiers were killed in the action. Matuzok survived and was eventually resettled in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Aeppel|first1=Timothy|title=For defectors, life can be lonely|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1986/0505/rvasi.html|website=Christian Science Monitor|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301204419/https://www.csmonitor.com/1986/0505/rvasi.html|archive-date=1 March 2016|date=5 May 1986}}</ref>

In late 2009, South Korean forces in conjunction with the United Nations Command began renovation of its three [[Guard posts in South Korea|guard posts]] and two checkpoint buildings within the JSA compound. Construction was designed to enlarge and modernize the structures. Work was undertaken a year after North Korea finished replacing four JSA guard posts on its side of the MDL.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=65534 |title=South Korea to revamp DMZ towers |newspaper=[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]] |date=2009-10-22 |access-date=2009-11-09 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022163155/http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=65534 |archive-date=22 October 2009}}</ref> On 15 October, 2018, during the high-level talks in Panmunjeom, military officials of the rank of colonel from the two Koreas and Burke Hamilton, Secretary of the [[United Nations Command, Military Armistice Commission, Korea|UNC Military Armistice Commission]], announced measures to reduce conventional military threats, such as creating buffer zones along their land and sea boundaries and a no-fly zone above the border, removing 11 front-line guard posts by December, and [[demining]] sections of the Demilitarized Zone.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.kait8.com/2018/10/15/koreas-hold-high-level-peace-talks |title=Koreas agree to break ground on inter-Korean railroad |last=Kim |first=Tong-hyung |work=Kait8.com |access-date=2018-11-19 |archive-date=17 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017082118/http://www.kait8.com/2018/10/15/koreas-hold-high-level-peace-talks/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Villages==
[[File:Buildings in Kijong-dong (5).jpg|thumb|[[Kijŏng-dong]] in North Korea, seen from South Korea]]
Both North and South Korea maintain ''peace villages'' in sight of each other's side of the DMZ. In the South, Daeseong-dong is administered under the terms of the DMZ. Villagers are classed as South Korean citizens, but are [[Tax exemption|exempt]] from paying tax and other civic requirements such as [[Conscription in South Korea|military service]]. In the North, [[Kijŏng-dong]] features a number of brightly painted, poured-concrete multi-story buildings and apartments with electric lighting. These features represented an unheard-of level of luxury for rural Koreans, North or South, in the 1950s. The town was oriented so that the bright blue roofs and white sides of the buildings would be the most distinguishing features when viewed from the border. However, based on scrutiny with modern telescopic lenses, it has been confirmed that the buildings are mere concrete shells lacking window glass or even interior rooms,<ref name="potts">{{Cite journal |last=Potts |first=Rolf |date=1999-02-03 |title=Korea's No-man's-land |url=http://www.salon.com/1999/02/03/feature_115/ |url-status=live |journal=[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215050040/http://www.salon.com/1999/02/03/feature_115/ |archive-date=15 February 2013}}</ref><ref>O'Neill, Tom. "Korea's DMZ: Dangerous Divide". ''National Geographic'', July 2003.</ref> with the building lights turned on and off at set times and the empty sidewalks swept by a skeleton crew of caretakers in an effort to preserve the illusion of activity.<ref>{{cite web |last=Silpasornprasit |first=Susan |url=http://imcom.korea.army.mil/imakoroweb/sites/local/news/020808_IMCOMK_DMZ.asp |title=Day trip to the DMZ: A look inside the Korean Demilitarized Zone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330022530/http://imcom.korea.army.mil/imakoroweb/sites/local/news/020808_IMCOMK_DMZ.asp |archive-date=30 March 2009 |publisher=IMCOM-Korea Region Public Affairs Office, US Army}}</ref>

===Flagpoles===
{{multiple image
| image1            = Daeseong-dong flagpole.jpg
| width1            = 178
| caption1          = Daeseong-dong and its flagpole with the [[Flag of South Korea|South Korea flag]]
| image2            = Gijeong-ri Flag.jpg
| caption2          = The world's seventh-tallest flagpole (160&nbsp;m) flying a [[Flag of North Korea|North Korean flag]] over [[Kijong-dong|Kijŏng-dong]] near [[Panmunjeom]]
}}
In the 1980s, the South Korean government built a {{cvt|100|m|ft|0}} flag pole in Daeseong-dong, which flies a [[flag of South Korea|South Korean flag]] weighing {{cvt|130|kg|lb|0}}. The North Korean government responded by building the {{cvt|160|m|ft|0|sp=us}} [[Panmunjeom flagpole]] in Kijŏng-dong, only {{cvt|1.2|km|mi|1}} west of the border with South Korea. It flies a {{cvt|270|kg|lb|0}} [[flag of North Korea]]. In 2014, the Panmunjeom flagpole was the fourth tallest in the world, after the [[Jeddah Flagpole]] in [[Jeddah]], [[Saudi Arabia]], at {{cvt|170|m|ft|0}}, the [[Dushanbe Flagpole]] in [[Dushanbe]], [[Tajikistan]], at {{cvt|165|m|ft|0}} and the pole at the [[National Flag Square]] in [[Baku]], [[Azerbaijan]], which is {{cvt|162|m|ft|0}}.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/02/19/koreas.dmz/ |title=CNN.com – Korea's DMZ: 'Scariest place on Earth' |access-date=2007-10-23 |date=2002-02-20 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012164210/http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/02/19/koreas.dmz/ |archive-date=12 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://economy.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_blogview.asp?at_code=370439 |script-title=ko:개성에 '구멍탄' 5만장 배달했습니다 |work=economy.ohmynews.com |access-date=2006-12-06 |language=ko}}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=Al83tito |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|reason=See reliable sources list on [[WP:KO/RS]]|date=March 2025}} It is currently the world's seventh largest flagpole.

==DMZ-related incidents and incursions==
{{Main|List of border incidents involving North and South Korea}}
Since demarcation, the DMZ has had numerous cases of incidents and incursions by both sides, although the North Korean government typically never acknowledges direct responsibility for any of these incidents (there are exceptions, such as the axe incident).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/man/crs/RL30004.pdf |title=North Korea: Chronology of Provocations, 1950 – 2003 |access-date=2012-02-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060905062431/http://www.fas.org/man/crs/RL30004.pdf |archive-date=5 September 2006}}</ref> This was particularly intense during the [[Korean DMZ Conflict (1966–1969)]] when a series of skirmishes along the DMZ resulted in the deaths of 81 [[US soldier|American]], 299 [[South Korean soldier|South Korean]] and 397 [[North Korean army|North Korean soldiers]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bolger |first=Daniel |title=Scenes from an Unfinished War: Low intensity conflict in Korea 1966–1969 |publisher=Diane Publishing Co |isbn=978-0-7881-1208-9 |year=1991}}</ref> This included the [[Blue House raid|Blue House Raid]] in 1968, an attempt to [[Assassination|assassinate]] South Korea President [[Park Chung Hee]] at the [[Blue House]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/scenes/scen_c3.pdf |title=Scenes from an Unfinished War: Low-Intensity Conflict in Korea, 1966–1968 |publisher=Cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil |access-date=2012-02-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325103728/http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/scenes/scen_c3.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2009}}</ref>

In 1976, in now-declassified meeting minutes, U.S. deputy secretary of defense [[William Clements]] told U.S. secretary of state [[Henry Kissinger]] that there had been 200 raids or incursions into North Korea from the south, though not by the U.S. military.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve12/d286 |title=Minutes of Washington Special Actions Group Meeting, Washington, 25 August 1976, 10:30 a.m. |date=25 August 1976 |access-date=12 May 2012 |publisher=[[Office of the Historian]], US Department of State |quote=Clements: I like it. It doesn't have an overt character. I have been told that there have been 200 other such operations and that none of these have surfaced. Kissinger: It is different for us with the War Powers Act. I don't remember any such operations. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925121535/http://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve12/d286 |archive-date=25 September 2012}}</ref> Details of only a few of these incursions have become public, including raids by South Korean forces in 1967 that had sabotaged about 50 North Korean facilities.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/02/116_80936.html |title=S. Korea raided North with captured agents in 1967 |newspaper=[[The Korea Times]] |author=Lee Tae-hoon |date=7 February 2011 |access-date=12 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001195904/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/02/116_80936.html |archive-date=1 October 2012}}</ref>

===Incursion tunnels===
{{See also|Tunnel warfare}}
Since 15 November 1974, South Korea has discovered four tunnels crossing the DMZ that had been dug by North Korea. The orientation of the blasting lines within each tunnel indicated they were dug by North Korea. North Korea claimed that the tunnels were for coal mining; no coal was found in the tunnels, which were dug through granite. Some of the tunnel walls were painted black to give the appearance of [[anthracite]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Jim |last=Sides |title=Almost Home |publisher=Xulon Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-60791-740-3 |page=118}}</ref>

The tunnels are believed to have been planned as a military invasion route by North Korea. They run in a north–south direction and do not have branches. Following each discovery, engineering within the tunnels has become progressively more advanced. For example, the third tunnel sloped slightly upwards as it progressed southward, to prevent water stagnation. Today, visitors from the south may visit the second, third and fourth tunnels through guided tours.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

====First tunnel====
The first of the tunnels was discovered on 15 November 1974, by a South Korean Army patrol, noticing steam rising from the ground. The initial discovery was met with [[Automatic firearm|automatic fire]] from North Korean soldiers. Five days later, during a subsequent exploration of this tunnel, US Navy Commander Robert M. Ballinger and [[Republic of Korea Marine Corps|ROK Marine Corps]] Major Kim Hah-chul were killed in the tunnel by a North Korean explosive device. The blast also wounded five Americans and one South Korean from the United Nations Command.

The tunnel, which was about {{cvt|3|by|4|ft|1|order=flip}}, extended more than {{cvt|1|km|yd}} beyond the MDL into South Korea. The tunnel was reinforced with concrete slabs and had electric power and lighting. There were weapon storage areas and sleeping areas. A [[narrow-gauge railway]] with carts had also been installed. Estimates based on the tunnel's size suggest it would have allowed considerable numbers of soldiers to pass through it.<ref name=bermudez_js>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621051225/http://www.korean-war.com/Archives/2002/02/msg00289.html |archive-date=2013-06-21 |url=http://www.korean-war.com/Archives/2002/02/msg00289.html |title=Tunnels under the DMZ |last=Bermudez |first=Joseph S. Jr |access-date=2010-03-26 |website=korean-war.com}}</ref>

====Second tunnel====
The second tunnel was discovered on 19 March 1975. It is of similar length to the first tunnel. It is located between {{cvt|50|and|160|m|ft}} below ground, but is larger than the first, approximately {{convert|2|by|2|m|ft|0|sp=us|abbr=in}}.

====Third tunnel====
{{main|Third Tunnel of Aggression}}
The third tunnel was discovered on 17 October 1978. Unlike the previous two, the third tunnel was discovered following a tip from a [[North Korean defectors|North Korean defector]]. This tunnel is about {{cvt|1600|m|ft}} long and about {{cvt|73|m|ft}} below ground.<ref>{{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Martin |title=Seoul |year=2009 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=978-1-74104-774-5 |page=162}}</ref> Foreign visitors touring the South Korean DMZ may view inside this tunnel using a sloped access shaft.

====Fourth tunnel====
[[File:Entrance to the 4th Infiltration Tunnel, Korean DMZ.jpg|thumb|Entrance to the North Korean-dug 4th Infiltration Tunnel, Korean DMZ]]
A fourth tunnel was discovered on 3 March 1990, north of [[Haean]] town in the former [[Punchbowl, Korea|Punchbowl]] battlefield. The tunnel's dimensions are {{convert|2|by|2|m|ft|0|sp=us|abbr=in}}, and it is {{cvt|145|m|ft|sp=us}} deep. The method of construction is almost identical in structure to the second and the third tunnels.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.panmunjomtour.com/english/dmz/dmz_20.htm |title=The Fourth Infiltration Tunnel |publisher=Panmunjom Travel Center |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070309084651/http://www.panmunjomtour.com/english/dmz/dmz_20.htm |archive-date=9 March 2007}}</ref>

===Korean wall===
[[File:The Korean Wall in the DMZ.JPG|thumb|The Korean wall, or anti-tank barrier, in the [[demilitarized zone]] seen through binoculars from the North Korean side]]
According to North Korea, between 1977 and 1979, the South Korean and United States authorities constructed a concrete wall along the DMZ.<ref name="tetteroo"/> North Korea, however, began to propagate information about the wall after the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] in 1989, when the symbolism of a wall unjustly dividing a people became more apparent.<ref>{{cite book |last=Salzinger |first=Caroline |translator-last=Lempinen |translator-first=Ulla |title=Terveisiä pahan akselilta: Arkea ja politiikkaa maailman suljetuimmissa valtioissa |year=2008 |publisher=Atena |location=Jyväskylä |language=fi |isbn=978-951-796-521-7 |page=40}}</ref>

Various organizations, such as the North Korean tour guide company Korea Konsult, claimed a wall was dividing Korea, saying that:

{{blockquote|In the area south of the Military Demarcation Line, which cuts across Korea at its waist, there is a concrete wall which ... stretches more than {{cvt|240|km|mi|0}} from east to west, is {{cvt|5|-|8|m|ft|0}} high, {{cvt|10|-|19|m|ft|0}} thick at the bottom, and {{cvt|3|-|7|m|ft|0}} wide in the upper part. It is set with wire entanglements and dotted with gun embrasures, look-outs and varieties of military establishments.<!-- not in citation: [...] the South Korean rulers built this wall over a period of many years from 1977.--><ref>{{cite web |title=DMZ: Demilitarized Zone |url=http://koreakonsult.net/Attraction_DMZ_eng.html |publisher=Korea Konsult |access-date=16 April 2015 |archive-date=17 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417200426/http://koreakonsult.net/Attraction_DMZ_eng.html |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

In December 1999, Chu Chang-jun, [[China–North Korea relations|North Korea's ambassador to China]], repeated claims that a "wall" divided Korea. He said the south side of the wall is packed with soil, which permits access to the top of the wall and makes it effectively invisible from the south side. He also claimed that it served as a [[bridgehead]] for any northward invasion.<ref name="Wall">{{cite web |url=http://www.korean-war.com/Archives/2000/12/msg00041.html |title=New York Times, 1999 |publisher=Korean-war.com |access-date=2012-02-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308122740/http://www.korean-war.com/Archives/2000/12/msg00041.html |archive-date=8 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Tear Down the Korean Wall |url=http://www.kimsoft.com/1997/nk9912.htm |publisher=DPRK UN Mission |date=1999-12-03 |access-date=2007-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060329064336/http://www.kimsoft.com/1997/nk9912.htm |archive-date=29 March 2006}}</ref>

The United States and South Korea deny the wall's existence, although they do claim there are [[Anti-tank obstacles|anti-tank barriers]] along some sections of the DMZ.<ref>{{cite news |last=Eckholm |first=Erik |date=8 December 1999 |title=Where Most See Ramparts, North Korea Imagines a Wall |url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/world/asia/120899nkorea-skorea.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=26 May 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816222047/http://partners.nytimes.com/library/world/asia/120899nkorea-skorea.html |archive-date=16 August 2016}}</ref> Dutch journalist and filmmaker [[Peter Tetteroo]] also shot footage of a barrier in 2001 which his North Korean guides said was the Korean Wall.<ref name="tetteroo">{{cite web |url=http://www.filmakers.com/index.php?a=filmDetail&filmID=1138 |title=Welcome to North Korea: A film by Peter Tetteroo for KRO Television |access-date=2009-12-29 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711001620/http://www.filmakers.com/index.php?a=filmDetail&filmID=1138 |archive-date=11 July 2011}}</ref>

A 2007 [[Reuters]] report revealed that there is no coast to coast wall located across the DMZ and that the pictures of a "wall" which have been used in North Korean propaganda have merely been pictures of concrete anti-tank barriers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-korea-north-wall/north-korea-asks-south-to-tear-down-imaginary-wall-idUSSEO20068620071231 |title=North Korea asks South to tear down imaginary wall |first=Jon |last=Herskovitz |date=31 December 2007 |work=Reuters |access-date=1 October 2018 |archive-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702150320/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-korea-north-wall/north-korea-asks-south-to-tear-down-imaginary-wall-idUSSEO20068620071231 |url-status=live}}</ref> While 800,000 landmines were being removed in 2018, it was shown that the [[Joint Security Area]] along the Korean border was guarded by standard barbed wire.<ref name=bbckoreaoct>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45704909 |title=Koreas begin clearing landmines from heavily fortified border |date=1 October 2018 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=9 February 2019 |archive-date=14 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614061654/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45704909 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==North Korean side of the DMZ==
[[File:Entrance_of_Joint_Security_Area,_Korean_Demilitarized_Zone,_DPRK_side.jpg|thumb|DMZ, North Korea. [[Electric fence]]s are used in the Korean Demilitarized Zone as a means to seal off North Korea from South Korea. Behind the fence, there is a strip which has [[land mine]]s hidden beneath it.]]
The North Korean side of the DMZ primarily serves to stop an invasion of North Korea from the south. Its other purpose is to ensure that North Korean citizens face significant difficulty in any effort to defect to South Korea.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qsl.net/ah6hy/SKDMZ.html |title=Korea Border Area |access-date=2017-03-12 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914011727/http://www.qsl.net/ah6hy/SKDMZ.html |archive-date=14 September 2016}} Bottom of the page. Retrieved 11 March 2017</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/20/world/north-korea-blocks-defections-across-dmz.html |title=North Korea Blocks Defections Across DMZ |access-date=2017-03-12 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312202845/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/20/world/north-korea-blocks-defections-across-dmz.html |archive-date=12 March 2017 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=20 May 1982 |last1=Stokes |first1=Henry Scott}} Retrieved 11 March 2017</ref>

From the armistice until 1972, approximately 7,700 South Korean soldiers and agents infiltrated into North Korea in order to sabotage military bases and industrial areas. Around 5,300 of them never returned home.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/15/world/south-korean-movie-unlocks-door-on-a-once-secret-past.html?_r=0 |title=South Korean Movie Unlocks Door on a Once-Secret Past |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |author=Norimitsu Onishi |date=15 February 2014 |access-date=13 March 2017 |archive-date=4 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704230046/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/15/world/south-korean-movie-unlocks-door-on-a-once-secret-past.html?_r=0 |url-status=live}}</ref>

North Korea has thousands of artillery pieces near the DMZ. According to a 2018 article in ''[[The Economist]]'', North Korea could bombard Seoul with over 10,000 rounds every minute.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21735586-how-shifts-technology-and-geopolitics-are-renewing-threat-growing-danger |title=The Growing Danger of Great-Power Conflict |newspaper=The Economist |date=25 January 2018 |access-date=2018-02-05 |archive-date=5 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205145349/https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21735586-how-shifts-technology-and-geopolitics-are-renewing-threat-growing-danger |url-status=live}}</ref> Experts believe that 60 percent of its total [[artillery]] is positioned within a few kilometers of the DMZ acting as a deterrent against any South Korean invasion.

==Propaganda==
{{See also|Propaganda|Psychological warfare}}
{{Update|section|date=September 2023}}

===Loudspeaker installations===
{{Main|Korean Demilitarized Zone loudspeakers}}
From 1953 until 2004, both sides broadcast audio propaganda across the DMZ.<ref name=bbc-20040615/> Massive loudspeakers mounted on several of the buildings delivered DPRK propaganda broadcasts directed towards the south as well as propaganda radio broadcasts across the border.<ref name="potts"/> South Korean broadcasts featured "popular music and lectures on freedom and democracy," while the North Korean broadcast featured "martial music and praises to the country's rulers." In 2004, the North and South agreed to end the broadcasts as part of an agreement to ease diplomatic tensions.<ref name="bbc-20040615">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3807409.stm |title=Koreas Switch off Loudspeakers |date=15 June 2004 |access-date=7 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040615123223/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3807409.stm |archive-date=15 June 2004 |url-status=live |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

On 4 August 2015, a border incident occurred where two South Korean soldiers were wounded after stepping on landmines that had allegedly been laid on the southern side of the DMZ by North Korean forces near an ROK guard post.<ref name="Choe Sang-hun">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/world/asia/north-korea-placed-mines-that-maimed-2-south-korean-soldiers-at-dmz-seoul-says.html?_r=0 |title=South Korea Accuses the North After Land Mines Maim Two Soldiers in DMZ |author=Choe Sang-hun |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 August 2015 |access-date=13 August 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150813125328/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/world/asia/north-korea-placed-mines-that-maimed-2-south-korean-soldiers-at-dmz-seoul-says.html?_r=0 |archive-date=13 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Park |first=Ju-Min |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-northkorea-mines-idUSKCN0QF07A20150810 |title=South Korea condemns North over land mine blast, vows retaliation |location=Seoul |work=[[Reuters]] |date=2015-08-10 |access-date=2015-08-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810235643/http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/10/us-southkorea-northkorea-mines-idUSKCN0QF07A20150810 |archive-date=10 August 2015}}</ref> Both North Korea and South Korea then resumed broadcasting propaganda by loudspeaker.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/world/asia/north-korea-and-south-korea-exchange-rocket-and-artillery-fire.html |title=North Korea and South Korea Trade Fire Across Border, Seoul Says |date=21 August 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=13 March 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117145801/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/world/asia/north-korea-and-south-korea-exchange-rocket-and-artillery-fire.html |archive-date=17 January 2016}}</ref>  After four days of negotiations, on 25 August 2015 South Korea agreed to discontinue the broadcasts following a statement from North Korea's government expressing regret for the landmine incident.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/international/asia/2015/08/south_korea_turns_off_propaganda_as_koreas_reach_deal |title=South Korea turns off propaganda as Koreas reach deal |date=2015-08-25 |access-date=2015-08-25 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924004726/http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/international/asia/2015/08/south_korea_turns_off_propaganda_as_koreas_reach_deal |archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>

On 8 January 2016, in response to North Korea's supposed successful testing of a [[Thermonuclear weapon|hydrogen bomb]], South Korea resumed broadcasts directed at the North.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kim |first1=Sam |title=South Korea Punishes Kim Jong Un With K-Pop for Nuclear Test |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-07/south-korea-to-inflict-k-pop-blasts-on-kim-jong-un-for-nuke-test |access-date=8 January 2016 |work=Bloomsberg |date=2016-01-07 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107213804/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-07/south-korea-to-inflict-k-pop-blasts-on-kim-jong-un-for-nuke-test |archive-date=7 January 2016}}</ref> On 15 April 2016, it was reported that the South Koreans purchased a new audio system to combat the North's broadcasts.<ref name=thereg-20160415>{{cite news |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/15/south_korea_to_upgrade_national_stereo_system_at_cost_of_us16m/ |title=South Korea to upgrade national stereo defence system for US$16m |author=Simon Sharwood |newspaper=The Register |date=15 April 2016 |access-date=22 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419011741/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/15/south_korea_to_upgrade_national_stereo_system_at_cost_of_us16m/ |archive-date=19 April 2016}}</ref>

===Balloons===
{{main|Balloon propaganda campaigns in Korea}}
Both North and South Korea have held [[Airborne leaflet propaganda|balloon propaganda leaflet]] campaigns since the Korean War.{{sfn|Jung|2014|p=16}}

In recent years, mainly South Korean [[non-governmental organization]]s have been involved in launching balloons targeted at the DMZ and beyond.{{sfn|Jung|2014|p=9}} Due to the winds, the balloons tend to fall near the DMZ where there are mostly North Korean soldiers to see the leaflets.<ref name="Higginbotham2014">{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-06-05/the-no-tech-tactics-of-north-koreas-target-zero-park-sang-hak#p4 |title=The No-Tech Tactics of North Korea's Most Wanted Defector |last=Higginbotham |first=Adam |date=5 June 2014 |website=[[Bloomberg News]] |access-date=1 July 2015 |page=4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703211625/http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-06-05/the-no-tech-tactics-of-north-koreas-target-zero-park-sang-hak |archive-date=3 July 2015}}</ref> As with the loudspeakers, balloon operations were mutually agreed to be halted between 2004 and 2010.{{sfn|Jung|2014|p=23}} It has been assessed that the activists' balloons may contribute to the decay of remaining cooperation between the Korean governments,<ref name="Feffer2014">{{cite web |url=http://www.ips-dc.org/koreas-balloon-war/ |title=Korea's Balloon War |last=Feffer |first=John |date=6 November 2014 |website=[[Institute for Policy Studies]] |access-date=29 June 2015 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420053631/https://ips-dc.org/koreas-balloon-war/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and the DMZ has become more militarized in recent years.{{sfn|Jung|2014|p=31}}

Many North Korean leaflets during the Cold War gave instructions and maps to help targeted South Korean soldiers in defecting. One of the leaflets found on the DMZ included a map of [[Cho Dae-hum]]'s route of [[South Korean defectors|defection to North Korea]] across the DMZ. In addition to using balloons as a means of delivery, North Koreans have also used [[rocket]]s to send leaflets to the DMZ.<ref name="Friedman2006">{{cite web |url=http://www.psywarrior.com/NKoreaH.html |title=Communist Korean War Leaflets |last=Friedman |first=Herbert A. |date=5 January 2006 |website=www.psywarrior.com |access-date=28 June 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711121501/http://www.psywarrior.com/NKoreaH.html |archive-date=11 July 2015}}</ref>

===Dismantling===
On 23 April 2018, both North and South Korea officially cancelled their border propaganda broadcasts.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/23/asia/north-korea-south-korea-upcoming-summit-intl/index.html |title=South Korea stops blasting propaganda along DMZ as summit looms |author1=Joshua Berlinger |author2=Yoonjung Seo |work=CNN |access-date=2018-11-19 |archive-date=2 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002023123/https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/23/asia/north-korea-south-korea-upcoming-summit-intl/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> On 1 May 2018, the loudspeaker systems across the Korean border were dismantled.<ref name=may1>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/01/607399907/north-and-south-korea-dismantle-loudspeakers-blaring-propaganda-on-the-dmz |title=North And South Korea Dismantle Loudspeakers Blaring Propaganda On The DMZ : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2018-05-01 |access-date=2018-10-01 |archive-date=18 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818162147/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/01/607399907/north-and-south-korea-dismantle-loudspeakers-blaring-propaganda-on-the-dmz |url-status=live}}</ref> Both sides also committed to ending the balloon campaigns.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-05-05/south-korea-faces-decision-over-leaflets-ties-warm-north |title=South Korea faces a decision over leaflets as ties warm with the North |work=Public Radio International |access-date=2018-11-19 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308235737/https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-05-05/south-korea-faces-decision-over-leaflets-ties-warm-north |url-status=live}}</ref> On 5 May 2018, an attempt by North Korean defectors to disperse more balloon propaganda across the border from South Korea was halted by the South Korean government.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/05/south-korea-sabotages-anti-north-korea-leaflet-drop/ |title=South Korean police stop protesters releasing balloons to the North, as ties thaw |agency=Reuters |date=5 May 2018 |via=www.telegraph.co.uk |newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=1 October 2018 |archive-date=26 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126085046/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/05/south-korea-sabotages-anti-north-korea-leaflet-drop/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The no-fly zone which was established on 1 November 2018 also designates a no-fly zone for all aircraft types above the MDL, and prohibits hot-air balloons from traveling within 25&nbsp;km of the Korean border's MDL.<ref name="nov1effect">[https://www.ncnk.org/sites/default/files/Agreement%20on%20the%20Implementation%20of%20the%20Historic%20Panmunjom%20Declaration%20in%20the%20Military%20Domain.pdf Agreement on the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjom Declaration in the Military Domain] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213015421/https://www.ncnk.org/sites/default/files/Agreement |date=13 February 2020 }} , 2018 (PDF)</ref>

In 2024, as a response to continuing leaflets from South Korean activists, the North flew around 1,000 balloons filled with cigarette butts, manure, waste batteries, scraps of cloth, and dirty diapers over the border. In response, South Korean activists released helium balloons with anti-Pyongyang leaflets and USB sticks with [[Korean drama|K-dramas]] and world news into North Korea.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-04 |title=North Korea's trash balloons deepen tensions with the South. Here's what's happening between rivals |url=https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-balloon-trash-south-f9b4b0604b454cebce1eb994f464b948 |access-date=2024-12-28 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> The actions of North Korea resulted in a June 2024 decision by the South to suspend the above deal and resume military drills near the border.<ref name=":0" />

==Civilian Control Line==
{{multiple image
| total_width       = 478
| image1            = Civilian_Control_Line,_Imjingak,_Paju,_South_Korea_(3162648972).jpg
| caption1          = Civilian Control Line, Imjingak, Paju, South Korea
| image2            = Korea_Civilian_Control_Line2010(1).JPG
| caption2          = Civilian Control Line, South Korea
| image3            = Korea DMZ sentry.jpg
| caption3          = A South Korean checkpoint at the Civilian Control Line, located outside of the DMZ
}}

The Civilian Control Line (CCL), or the Civilian Control Zone (CCZ, {{ill|민간인출입통제구역|ko|vertical-align=sup}}), is a line that designates an additional buffer zone to the DMZ within a distance of {{cvt|5|to|20|km}} from the Southern Limit Line of the DMZ. Its purpose is to limit and control the entrance of civilians into the area in order to protect and maintain the security of military facilities and operations near the DMZ. The commander of the [[Eighth United States Army|8th US Army]] ordered the creation of the CCL and it was activated and first became effective in February 1954.<ref>{{cite web |author=Panmunjom tour |title=DMZ – Terminology |website=tourdmz.com |url=http://tourdmz.com/english/02dmz/p2-1.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305210517/http://tourdmz.com/english/02dmz/p2-1.php |archive-date=2016-03-05 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The buffer zone that falls south of the Southern Limit Line is called the Civilian Control Zone. Barbed wire fences and manned military guard posts mark the Civilian Control Line. The Civilian Control Zone is necessary for the military to monitor civilian travel to tourist destinations close to the Southern Limit Line of the DMZ like the discovered infiltration tunnels and tourist observatories. Usually when traveling within the Civilian Control Zone, South Korean soldiers accompany tourist buses and cars as armed guards to monitor the civilians as well as to protect them from North Korean intruders.

Right after the ceasefire, the Civilian Control Zone outside the DMZ encompassed 100 or so empty villages. The government implemented migration measures to attract settlers into the area. As a result, in 1983, when the area delineated by the Civilian Control Line was at its largest, a total of 39,725 residents in 8,799 households were living in the 81 villages located within the Civilian Control Zone.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.koreana.or.kr/user/0003/nd6245.do?View&boardNo=00000415&pubLang=English&pubYear=2016&pubMonth=AUTUMN&zineInfoNo=0003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312071509/http://www.koreana.or.kr/user/0003/nd6245.do?View&boardNo=00000415&pubLang=English&pubYear=2016&pubMonth=AUTUMN&zineInfoNo=0003 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-03-12 |title=DMZ: The Forbidden Land Glimpsed through Barbed Wire Fences |website=[[Koreana (magazine)|Koreana]] |language=ko |access-date=2017-03-17}}</ref>

Most of the tourist and media photos of the "DMZ fence" are actually photos of the CCL fence. The actual DMZ fence on the Southern Limit Line is completely off-limits to everybody except soldiers, and it is illegal to take pictures of the DMZ fence. The CCL fence acts more as a deterrent for South Korean civilians from getting too close to the dangerous DMZ and is also the final barrier for North Korean infiltrators if they get past the Southern Limit Line DMZ fence.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/A-map-of-the-study-site-presenting-the-location-of-Military-Demarcation-LineMDL_fig1_277646914 |title=A map of the study site presenting the location of Military Demarcation Line(MDL), Southern Limit Line(SLL) and Civilian Control Line(CCL). Civilian Control Zone is located between SLL and CCL. Border Line(BL) is designated within 25km from CCL |via=Development of Evaluation Indices for Ecological Restoration of Degraded Environments Near DMZ in the Republic of Korea |access-date=15 February 2020 |archive-date=26 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426105812/https://www.researchgate.net/figure/A-map-of-the-study-site-presenting-the-location-of-Military-Demarcation-LineMDL_fig1_277646914 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Neutral Zone of the Han River Estuary==
The whole estuary of the [[Han River (Korea)|Han River]] is deemed a "Neutral Zone" and is off-limits to all civilian vessels and is treated like the rest of the DMZ. Only military vessels are allowed within this neutral zone.

According to the July 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement civil [[Freight transport|shipping]] was supposed to be permissible in the Han River estuary and allow Seoul to be connected to the Yellow Sea (West Sea) via the Han River.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.findlaw.com/cnn/docs/korea/kwarmagr072753.html |title=FindLaw Legal Blogs |access-date=2014-04-14 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305164517/http://news.findlaw.com/cnn/docs/korea/kwarmagr072753.html |archive-date=5 March 2014}} Article 1, Section 5. Retrieved 11 March 2017</ref> However, both Koreas and the UNC failed to make this happen. The South Korean government ordered the construction of the [[Ara Canal]] to finally connect [[Seoul]] to the Yellow Sea, which was completed in 2012. Seoul was effectively landlocked from the ocean until 2012. The biggest limitation of the Ara Canal is it is too narrow to handle any vessels except small tourist boats and recreational boats, so Seoul still cannot receive large commercial ships or passenger ships in its port.

In recent years Chinese fishing vessels have taken advantage of the tense situation in the Han River Estuary Neutral Zone and illegally fished in this area due to both [[Korean People's Navy|North Korean]] and [[Republic of Korea Navy|South Korean]] navies never patrolling this area due to the fear of naval battles breaking out. This has led to [[Naval combat|firefights]] and sinkings of boats between Chinese fishermen and [[South Korean Coast Guard]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/south-korea-to-respond-to-illegal-fishing-with-force |title=South Korea to Respond to Illegal Fishing with Force |access-date=2017-03-11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312070836/http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/south-korea-to-respond-to-illegal-fishing-with-force |archive-date=12 March 2017}} Retrieved 11 March 2017</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fiskerforum.dk/en/news/b/han-river-crackdown |title=Han River crackdown – FiskerForum |access-date=2017-03-11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312060747/http://www.fiskerforum.dk/en/news/b/han-river-crackdown |archive-date=12 March 2017 |date=13 June 2016}} Retrieved 11 March 2017</ref>

On January 30, 2019, North Korean and South Korean military officials signed a landmark agreement that would open the Han River Estuary to civilian vessels for the first time since the Armistice Agreement in 1953. The agreement was scheduled to take place in April 2019 but the failure of the [[2019 Hanoi Summit]] indefinitely postponed these plans.<ref>{{cite web |title=S. Korea shares nautical charts of Han River estuary with N. Korea |website=English Edition |date=2019-01-31 |url=http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/880735.html |access-date=11 February 2019 |archive-date=12 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212011808/http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/880735.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=송상호 |title=Koreas to open Han River estuary to civilian ships in April |website=[[Yonhap News Agency]] |date=2019-01-30 |url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20190130008700315 |access-date=11 February 2019 |archive-date=12 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212011848/https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20190130008700315 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/914743.html |title=. Retrieved 3 May 2020 |access-date=3 May 2020 |archive-date=2 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802232537/http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/914743.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Castle of Gung Ye==
Within the DMZ itself, in the town of [[Cheorwon County (Korea)|Cheorwon]], is the old capital of the kingdom of [[Taebong]] (901–918), a regional upstart that became [[Goryeo]], the dynasty that ruled a [[History of Korea|united Korea]] from 918 to 1392.

Taebong was founded by the charismatic leader [[Gung Ye]], a brilliant if tyrannical one-eyed ex-[[Buddhist monk]]. Rebelling against the kingdom of [[Silla]], Korea's then ruling dynasty, he proclaimed the kingdom of Taebong—also called Later Goguryeo, in reference to the ancient kingdom of [[Goguryeo]] (37&nbsp;BCE – 668&nbsp;CE)—in 901, with himself as king. The kingdom consisted of much of central Korea, including areas around the DMZ. He placed his capital in Cheorwon, a mountainous region that was easily defensible (in the Korean War, this same region would earn the name "the [[Iron Triangle (Korea)|Iron Triangle]]").

As a former Buddhist monk, Gung Ye actively promoted the religion of [[Buddhism]] and incorporated Buddhist ceremonies into the new kingdom. Even after Gung Ye was [[Dethroning|dethroned]] by his own generals and replaced by [[Wang Geon]], the man who would rule over a united Korea as the first king of Goryeo, this Buddhist influence would continue, playing a major role in shaping the culture of medieval Korea.

As the ruins of Gung Ye's capital lie in the DMZ itself, visitors cannot see them. Moreover, excavation work and research have been hampered by political realities. In the future, inter-Korean peace may allow for proper archaeological studies to be conducted on the castle site and other historical sites within and underneath the DMZ.<ref>Koehler, Rober. (2011). {{Google books|8FatCQAAQBAJ|''The DMZ: Dividing the Two Koreas''|page=108}}</ref>

The ruins of the capital city of Taebong, the ruins of the castle of Gung Ye, and Gung Ye's tomb all lie within the DMZ and are off-limits to everybody except soldiers who patrol the DMZ.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://leekihwan.khan.kr/368 |script-title=ko:휴전선이 찢어놓은 궁예의 야망 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312060535/http://leekihwan.khan.kr/368 |archive-date=12 March 2017 |date=27 October 2014 |language=ko |access-date=10 March 2017}} Many pictures, maps, and description of the old Taebong capital that is stuck in the middle of the DMZ.</ref>

==Transportation==
[[File:Donghae-bukbu line on Korean DMZ.JPG|thumb|The Donghae Bukbu Line on Korea's east coast. The road and rail link was built for South Koreans visiting the [[Mount Kumgang Tourist Region]] in the North.]]
[[File:DMZ train Seoul to Dorasan.jpg|thumb|[[DMZ Train]] tour organized by Korail]]
Panmunjeom is the site of the negotiations that ended the Korean War and is the main center of human activity in the DMZ. The village is located on the main highway and near a railroad connecting the two Koreas.

The railway, which connects Seoul and [[Pyongyang]], was called the [[Gyeongui Line]] before division in the 1940s. Currently the South uses the original name, but the North refers to the route as the P'yŏngbu Line. The railway line has been mainly used to carry materials and South Korean workers to the [[Kaesong Industrial Region]]. Its reconnection was seen as part of the general improvement in the relations between North and South in the early part of this century. However, in November 2008 North Korean authorities closed the railway amid growing tensions with the South.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.scotsman.com/northkorea/Last-train-to-Kaesong-as.4744792.jp |title=Last train to Kaesong as Korean relations cool |date=2008-11-28 |publisher=News.Scotman.Com |location=Edinburgh |first=Jae-Soon |last=Chang |access-date=28 May 2009 |archive-date=29 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629141825/http://news.scotsman.com/northkorea/Last-train-to-Kaesong-as.4744792.jp |url-status=live}}</ref> Following the death of former [[President of South Korea|South Korean President]] [[Kim Dae-jung]], conciliatory talks were held between South Korean officials and a North Korean delegation who attended Kim's funeral. In September 2009, the Kaesong rail and road crossing was reopened.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/375550.html |title=Inter-Korean economic cooperation Kaesong office reopens |publisher=Englishhani |date=2009-09-07 |access-date=2009-09-17 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722143648/http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/375550.html |archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref>

The road at Panmunjeom, which was known historically as ''Highway One'' in the South, was originally the only access point between the two countries on the Korean Peninsula. Passage is comparable to the strict movements that occurred at [[Checkpoint Charlie]] in Berlin at the height of the Cold War. Both North and South Korea's roads end in the JSA; the highways do not quite join as there is a {{cvt|20|cm|in|0}} concrete line that divides the entire site. People given the rare permission to cross this border must do so on foot before continuing their journey by road.

In 2007, on the east coast of Korea, the first train crossed the DMZ on the new [[Donghae Bukbu Line|Donghae Bukbu (Tonghae Pukpu) Line]]. The new rail crossing was built adjacent to the road which took South Koreans to [[Mount Kumgang Tourist Region]], a region of significant cultural importance for all Koreans. More than one million civilian visitors crossed the DMZ until the route was closed following the shooting of a 53-year-old South Korean tourist in July 2008.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-07/12/content_6839889.htm |title=ROK woman tourist shot dead at DPRK resort |newspaper=[[China Daily]] |date=2008-07-12 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217140840/http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-07/12/content_6839889.htm |archive-date=17 February 2012}}</ref> After a joint investigation was rebuffed by North Korea, the South Korean government suspended tours to the resort. Since then, the resort and the Donghae Bukbu Line have effectively been closed by North Korea.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7539368.stm |title=N Korea steps up row with South |publisher=BBC |date=2008-08-03 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930093913/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7539368.stm |archive-date=30 September 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8639065.stm |title=North Korea 'to seize property at Kumgang resort' |publisher=BBC |date=2010-04-23 |access-date=1 August 2010 |archive-date=10 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710100140/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8639065.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> Currently, the South Korean [[Korea Railroad Corporation]] (Korail) organizes tours to DMZ with special DMZ themed trains.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.letskorail.com/ebizbf/EbizBfAboutDmz_Train.do |title=Korail |website=[[Korail]] |access-date=8 July 2017 |archive-date=7 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707142304/http://www.letskorail.com/ebizbf/EbizBfAboutDmz_Train.do |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 14 October 2018, North and South Korea, agreed to meet the summit's goal of restoring railway and road transportation, which had been cut since the Korean War, by either late November or early December 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-southkorea-idUSKCN1MP0D0 |title=Koreas to reconnect roads, rail, U.S. concerned over easing sanctions |date=15 October 2018 |via=www.reuters.com |newspaper=Reuters |access-date=20 May 2019 |archive-date=2 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502172014/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-southkorea-idUSKCN1MP0D0 |url-status=live}}</ref> Road and railway transportation along the DMZ were reconnected in November 2018,<ref name=nov22kr /><ref name=nov22 /> following the removal of the "frontline" guard posts and Arrowhead Hill landmines, railroad transportation between North and South Korea resumed.<ref name=nov30>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/30/first-train-decade-departs-south-korea-north-korea/ |title=First train in a decade departs South Korea for North Korea |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=30 November 2018 |last1=Avagnina |first1=Gianluca |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-date=24 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824114234/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/30/first-train-decade-departs-south-korea-north-korea/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The same day, 30 officials from both North and South Korea started an 18-day survey of a 400-kilometer (248-mile) railroad section in North Korea alongside the DMZ between Kaesong and Sinuiju.<ref name=voanov30>{{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/koreas-survey-railway-tracks-cut-since-the-korean-war/4681029.html |title=Koreas Survey Railway Tracks Cut Since the Korean War |date=30 November 2018 |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-date=30 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130213418/https://www.voanews.com/a/koreas-survey-railway-tracks-cut-since-the-korean-war/4681029.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/11/356_259637.html |title=South Korean train starts joint survey of North Korean railways |date=30 November 2018 |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-date=30 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130215153/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/11/356_259637.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Efforts to conduct the survey had previously been obstructed due to the presence of the guard posts and the Arrowhead Hill landmines.<ref name=nov30 /> The survey will then follow the groundbreaking of a new railroad along the DMZ.<ref name="auto"/> The railway survey which involved the Gyeongui Line concluded on 5 December 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20181205000785 |title=&#91;Newsmaker&#93; Koreas in consultations for joint road inspection |date=5 December 2018 |access-date=9 December 2018 |archive-date=9 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209164707/http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20181205000785 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 8 December 2018, a South Korean bus crossed the DMZ into North Korea.<ref name=dec8 /> The same day, the officials who conducted the inter-Korean survey for the Gyeongui Line began surveying the [[Donghae Line]].<ref name=dec8>{{cite web |url=http://world.kbs.co.kr/service/news_view.htm?lang=e&Seq_Code=141408 |title=Joint Inspection of N. Korea's Eastern Rail Line Begins l KBS WORLD Radio |access-date=9 December 2018 |archive-date=26 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226045421/http://world.kbs.co.kr/service/news_view.htm?lang=e&Seq_Code=141408 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Nature reserve==
[[File:DMZ in Goseong.jpg|thumb|[[Goseong County, Gangwon|Goseong]] lookout point]]
[[File:President Moon Jaein Gangwondo 20190426 08.jpg|thumb|Eastern end of the DMZ 'Peace Trail' in [[Goseong County, Gangwon]]]]
In the past 70 years, the Korean DMZ has been a deadly place for humans, making habitation impossible. Only around the former village of [[Panmunjom]] and more recently the [[Donghae Bukbu Line]] on Korea's east coast have there been regular incursions by people.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/apr/13/wildlife-thriving-korean-demilitarised-zone |title=How wildlife is thriving in the Korean peninsula's demilitarised zone |first=Lisa |last=Brady |date=13 April 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160905181630/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/apr/13/wildlife-thriving-korean-demilitarised-zone |archive-date=5 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www1.american.edu/TED/ice/DMZ.HTM |title=Case Study |access-date=2016-09-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520080629/http://www1.american.edu/TED/ice/DMZ.HTM |archive-date=20 May 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

This natural isolation along the {{cvt|250|km}} length of the DMZ has created an [[involuntary park]] which is now recognized as one of the most well-preserved areas of temperate habitat in the world.<ref name="Green"/> In 1966 it was first proposed that the DMZ be turned into a [[national park]].<ref name="Paige 1967"/><ref>
{{cite journal |last1= Jaehwan |first1= Hyun |date= 2023 |title= Negotiating conservation and competition: national parks and 'victory-over-communism' diplomacy in South Korea |journal= The British Journal for the History of Science |volume= 57 |issue= 2 |type= section "The DMZ peace park proposal and victory-over-communism diplomacy" |pages= 239–255 |doi= 10.1017/S0007087423000316 |pmid= 37667898 }}
</ref>

There are over 6,000 species of animals and plants in the DMZ. The DMZ has over 100 [[Endangered species|endangered animal species]] of the 267 in Korea, as well as many endangered plant species, among the heavily fortified fences, [[landmines]] and listening posts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Animals Living in the DMZ |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/twVRv8x4gE_fWw |website=[[Google Arts & Culture]] |access-date=10 March 2023 |archive-date=10 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310212401/https://artsandculture.google.com/story/twVRv8x4gE_fWw |url-status=live }}</ref> These animals include the endangered [[red-crowned crane]] (a staple of Asian art), the [[white-naped crane]], critically endangered [[Korean fox]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Shim |first=Elizabeth |title=South Korean fox crossed into North Korea, Seoul says |website=UPI |date=2016-02-01 |url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/02/01/South-Korean-fox-crossed-into-North-Korea-Seoul-says/6521454354667/ |access-date=11 December 2019 |archive-date=9 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209095620/https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/02/01/South-Korean-fox-crossed-into-North-Korea-Seoul-says/6521454354667/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Asiatic black bear]],<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48214343 |title=Rare Asiatic Black Bear spotted in DMZ |work=[[BBC News]] |date=10 May 2019 |access-date=11 December 2019 |archive-date=18 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218001826/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48214343 |url-status=live}}</ref> and, potentially, the extremely rare [[Siberian tiger]],<ref name="Green">{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/08/22/korea.bio.dmz/ |title=Korea's DMZ: The thin green line |publisher=CNN |access-date=2009-07-30 |date=2003-08-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805110227/http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/08/22/korea.bio.dmz/ |archive-date=5 August 2009}}</ref> [[Amur leopard]], and endangered marine species such as western [[gray whale]].<ref>Hall Healy, 2007, KOREAN DEMILITARIZED ZONE: PEACE AND NATURE PARK, International Journal on World Peace
Vol. 24, No. 4 (DECEMBER 2007), pp. 61–83
</ref><ref>Hyun Woo Kim, Hawsun Sohn, Yasutaka Imai, 2018, Possible occurrence of a Gray Whale off Korea in 2015, International Whaling Commission, SC/67B/CMP/11 Rev1</ref> Ecologists have identified some 2,900 plant species, 70 types of mammals and 320 kinds of birds within the narrow buffer zone.<ref name="Green"/> Additional surveys are now being conducted throughout the region.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=199457&rel_no=1 |title=Korean 'Tigerman' Prowls the DMZ |publisher=International Korean News |access-date=2009-07-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813200543/http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=199457&rel_no=1 |archive-date=13 August 2009}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|reason=See reliable sources list on [[WP:KO/RS]]|date=March 2025}}

The DMZ owes its varied [[biodiversity]] to its geography, which crosses mountains, prairies, swamps, lakes, and tidal marshes. [[Environmentalist]]s hope that the DMZ will be conserved as a wildlife refuge, with a well-developed set of objective and management plans vetted and in place. In 2005, [[CNN]] founder and media mogul [[Ted Turner]], on a visit to North Korea, said that he would financially support any plans to turn the DMZ into a peace park and a UN-protected [[World Heritage Site]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-11-18-turnerdmz_x.htm |title=Ted Turner: Turn Korean DMZ into peace park |newspaper=USA TODAY |date=2005-11-18 |access-date=2010-05-07 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091206190920/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-11-18-turnerdmz_x.htm |archive-date=6 December 2009}}</ref>

In September 2011, South Korea submitted a nomination form to [[Man and the Biosphere Programme]] (MAB) in [[UNESCO]] for designation of {{cvt|435|km2|sqmi}} in the southern part of the DMZ below the Military Demarcation Line, as well as {{cvt|2979|km2|sqmi}} in privately controlled areas, as a Biosphere Reserve according to the Statutory Framework of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.<ref name="Nomination of Korea DMZ Biosphere Reserve">{{Cite FTP |last=Choi |first=Chungil |title=Nomination of Korea DMZ Biosphere Reserve |url=ftp://ftp.unesco.org/upload/sc/Advisory_Cttee2012/New%20BRs/Korea/DMZ/Letter%20of%20endorsement-DMZ.pdf |server=FTP server |url-status=dead |access-date=3 October 2012}}</ref> The MAB National Committee of the Republic of Korea mentioned only the southern part of DMZ to be nominated since there was no response from Pyongyang when it requested Pyongyang to push jointly. North Korea is a member nation of the international coordinating council of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme, which designates Biosphere Reserves.<ref name="Seoul to seek UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status for DMZ">{{cite news |last=Kim |first=Jeong-su |title=Seoul to seek UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status for DMZ |url=http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/540913.html |access-date=3 October 2012 |newspaper=[[The Hankyoreh]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722081415/http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/540913.html |archive-date=22 July 2012}}</ref>

North Korea opposed the application as a violation of the armistice agreement during the council's meeting in Paris on 9 to 13 July 2011. The South Korean government's attempt to designate the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve was turned down at UNESCO's MAB council meeting in Paris in July 2012. Pyongyang expressed its opposition by sending letters to 32 council member countries, except for South Korea, and the UNESCO headquarters a month prior to the meeting. At the council meeting, Pyongyang said the designation violated the Armistice Agreement.<ref>{{cite news |last= Cho |first= Do-soon |date= 14 August 2012 |title= Biosphere reserve status for the DMZ is urgent |newspaper= [[Korea JoongAng Daily|JoonAng Daily]] |type= letter |url= https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=2958167 |access-date= Oct 12, 2024 <!-- url article live; archive url dead. |url-status= usurped |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130621051310/http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=2957816 |archive-date= 21 June 2013 --> }}</ref>

==Destruction of guard posts==
[[File:Korean DMZ.jpg|thumb|right|Map of the Korean DMZ]]
On 26 October 2018, South Korean major general Kim Do-gyun and North Korean lieutenant general An Ik-san met in [[Tongilgak]] (the "Unification Pavilion"), a North Korean building located within the JSA. There, they began implementing new protocols which aim to reduce tension by requiring both North and South Korea to destroy 22 guard posts across the DMZ,<ref name="voaoct26">{{Cite news |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/koreas-continue-tension-easing-talks-as-the-north-criticizes-us/4630152.html |title=Koreas Continue Tension-Easing Talks as the North Criticizes US |last=Miller |first=Steve |work=[[Voice of America]]|access-date=2018-11-19 |archive-date=7 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107034937/https://www.voanews.com/a/koreas-continue-tension-easing-talks-as-the-north-criticizes-us/4630152.html |url-status=live}}</ref> among other steps. Both generals approved requirements for the guard posts to be destroyed by the end of November 2018.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.apnews.com/9e3311a2c2a9431198032cdd6e7e86a2 |title=2 Koreas to destroy 22 front-line guard posts by November |date=2018-10-26 |work=Associated Press |access-date=2018-11-19 |archive-date=5 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105144326/https://apnews.com/9e3311a2c2a9431198032cdd6e7e86a2 |url-status=live}}</ref> The JSA's guard posts were destroyed on 25 October 2018.<ref name=voaoct26 /><ref name="independentoct25">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theindependent.com/news/world/koreas-un-finish-withdrawing-firearms-from-border-village/image_55ab50f5-8704-5770-812d-87c7832e0568.html |title=2 Koreas to destroy 22 front-line guard posts by November |last=Lee |first=Jin-man |work=The Grand Island Independent |access-date=2018-11-19}}{{Dead link|date=July 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="yonhapoct25">{{Cite news |url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2018/10/25/0200000000AEN20181025001351315.html |title=(LEAD) Two Koreas, UNC wrap up JSA disarmament |last=송 |first=상호 |date=2018-10-25 |work=[[Yonhap News Agency]] |access-date=2018-11-19 |archive-date=25 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025173600/http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2018/10/25/0200000000AEN20181025001351315.html |url-status=live}}</ref> North and South Korea agreed to dismantle 11 guard posts located within their individual country and deemed as "front-line".<ref name="etoct26">{{Cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/2-koreas-to-destroy-11-front-line-guard-posts-by-november/articleshow/66377151.cms |title=2 Koreas to destroy 11 front-line guard posts by November |date=2018-10-26 |work=The Economic Times |access-date=2018-11-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026222722/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/2-koreas-to-destroy-11-front-line-guard-posts-by-november/articleshow/66377151.cms |archive-date=26 October 2018 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name=reutersoct26 /> It was also agreed that after the posts are dismantled, both Koreas would also withdraw equipment and personnel stationed at each post as well.<ref name="reutersoct26">{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-southkorea/north-and-south-korea-agree-to-scrap-22-guard-posts-at-border-next-month-idUSKCN1N0082 |title=North and South Korea agree to scrap 22 guard posts at border next... |last=Shin |first=Hyonhee |work=U.S. |access-date=2018-11-19|archive-date=1 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101022213/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-southkorea/north-and-south-korea-agree-to-scrap-22-guard-posts-at-border-next-month-idUSKCN1N0082 |url-status=live}}</ref> In tandem with the [[September 2018 inter-Korean summit#19 September (Day 2)|September 2018 Pyongyang and Military Domain Agreements]],<ref name=etoct26 /><ref name=reutersoct26 /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncnk.org/sites/default/files/Agreement%20on%20the%20Implementation%20of%20the%20Historic%20Panmunjom%20Declaration%20in%20the%20Military%20Domain.pdf |title=Agreement on the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjom Declaration in the Military Domain |access-date=1 November 2018 |archive-date=13 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213015421/https://www.ncnk.org/sites/default/files/Agreement |url-status=live}}</ref> both sides also agreed to gradually remove all guard posts near the DMZ following verification in December 2018.<ref name=etoct26 /><ref name=reutersoct26 />

However, all remaining troops and equipment, including weapons, were withdrawn from all of the 22 "frontline" guard posts before destruction began and both Koreas later agreed to individually destroy 10 of these guard posts instead of 11.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/north-and-south-korea-begin-destroying-border-guard-posts-10919016 |title=North and South Korea begin destroying border guard posts |work=Channel NewsAsia |access-date=2018-11-19 |archive-date=11 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111162404/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/north-and-south-korea-begin-destroying-border-guard-posts-10919016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=rappler11 /><ref name=latnov10 /><ref name=sfcnov10 />

On 4 November 2018, the North and South Korean governments hoisted a yellow flag above each of their 11 DMZ guard posts to publicly indicate that they all will be dismantled.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |url=http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/868900.html |title=South and North Korea begin trial dismantlement of guard posts surrounding DMZ |website=[[The Hankyoreh]] |access-date=5 November 2018 |archive-date=6 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106004820/http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/868900.html |url-status=live}}</ref> On 10 November 2018, the withdrawal of military personnel and weapons from all of the DMZ's 22 "front-line" guard posts was completed.<ref name="latnov10">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-korea-guard-post-withdrawals-20181110-story.html |title=In latest trust-building step, North and South Korean military finish withdrawal from front-line guard posts |agency=The Associated Press |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=2018-11-19 |date=11 November 2018 |archive-date=20 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120015130/https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-korea-guard-post-withdrawals-20181110-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="sfcnov10">{{Cite news |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/world/article/North-South-dismantle-22-guard-posts-along-border-13380901.php |title=North, South dismantle 22 guard posts along border |date=2018-11-10 |work=SFChronicle.com |access-date=2018-11-19 |archive-date=12 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112021614/https://www.sfchronicle.com/world/article/North-South-dismantle-22-guard-posts-along-border-13380901.php |url-status=live}}</ref> The destruction of 20 guard posts officially began on 11 November 2018.<ref name=nov11kh>{{cite web |url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20181111000255 |title=Koreas begin destroying 20 front-line guard posts |date=11 November 2018 |access-date=11 November 2018 |archive-date=11 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111151556/http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20181111000255 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, both Koreas amended the original agreement and decided to preserve 2 of the 22 now demilitarized frontline guard posts.<ref name=nov11kh /> Both of the posts which were planned to be preserved are located on the opposite sides of the Korean border.<ref name="rappler11">{{Cite news |url=https://www.rappler.com/world/regions/asia-pacific/216465-north-south-korea-begin-destroying-border-guard-posts |title=North and South Korea begin destroying border guard posts |work=Rappler |access-date=2018-11-19|archive-date=11 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111184917/https://www.rappler.com/world/regions/asia-pacific/216465-north-south-korea-begin-destroying-border-guard-posts |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 15 November 2018, destruction of two DMZ guard posts, one being located in South Korea and the other located in North Korea, was completed.<ref name=nov15>{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2018/11/15/south-korea-destroys-guard-posts-along-border-with-north-korea.html |title=South Korea destroys guard posts along border with North Korea &#124; The Star |website=thestar.com |date=15 November 2018 |access-date=18 November 2018 |archive-date=18 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118081521/https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2018/11/15/south-korea-destroys-guard-posts-along-border-with-north-korea.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=mtnov15>{{cite web |url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/11/16/south-korea-dismantles-guard-posts-dynamite-excavators.html |title=South Korea Dismantles Guard Posts with Dynamite, Excavators |first=Hyung-jin |last=Kim |date=16 November 2018 |website=Military.com |access-date=18 November 2018 |archive-date=18 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118081935/https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/11/16/south-korea-dismantles-guard-posts-dynamite-excavators.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Work was still ongoing to complete the destruction of other guard posts as well.<ref name=nov15 /><ref name=mtnov15 /> On 23 November 2018, it was revealed that South Korea was slowly destroying their guard posts with [[excavator]]s.<ref name=khnov23 />

On 20 November 2018, North Korea, hoping to further ease tensions with South Korea, destroyed all of their 10 remaining "frontline" guard posts.<ref name=abc11>{{cite web |url=https://abc11.com/4726650/ |title=North Korea detonates DMZ guard posts at southern border |date=21 November 2018 |website=ABC11 Raleigh-Durham |access-date=20 May 2019 |archive-date=18 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718005155/https://abc11.com/4726650/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The South Korean Defense Ministry released photos confirming this and also released a statement stating that North Korea had informed them about the plans to demolish them before it took place. This came in accordance with the earlier agreements.<ref name=abc11 /> South Korea also released videos of the guard posts being destroyed as well.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/north-korea-video-south-korea-dmz-guard-posts-explode-peace-agreement-border-a8643876.html |title=South Korea releases video of North Korea blowing up 10 guard posts in DMZ |website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |date=21 November 2018 |access-date=23 November 2018 |archive-date=24 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124114211/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/north-korea-video-south-korea-dmz-guard-posts-explode-peace-agreement-border-a8643876.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 30 November 2018, both Koreas completed work to dismantle 10 of their "frontline" guard posts.<ref name=nov30 /><ref name=belarusnov30 /> However, the later agreement for each Korea to preserve one "frontline" post was upheld as well.<ref name=nov30 /> The "frontline" guard post which was preserved on the North Korean side of the DMZ was visited by Kim Jong Un in 2013 when tensions were rising between both Koreas.<ref name=khnov23>{{cite web |url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20181120000703 |title=[Video] N. Korea destroys 10 DMZ guard posts |date=20 November 2018 |access-date=28 November 2018 |archive-date=29 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129012823/http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20181120000703 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Establishment of buffer zones, no-fly zones and Yellow Sea peace zones==
On 1 November 2018, buffer zones were established across the DMZ by the North and South Korean militaries.<ref name=nov1 /> In compliance with the Comprehensive Military Agreement which was signed at the [[September 2018 inter-Korean summit]],<ref name=ncnkdirect /> the buffer zone helps ensure that both North and South Korea will effectively ban hostility on land, air, and sea.<ref name=nov1 /> Both Koreas are prohibited from conducting [[Live fire exercise|live-fire artillery drills]] and regiment-level field maneuvering exercises or those by bigger units within 5 kilometers of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).<ref name="nov1">{{Cite news |url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2018/11/01/0200000000AEN20181101002500315.html |title=Koreas halt all 'hostile' military acts near border |last=이 |first=치동 |date=2018-11-01 |work=[[Yonhap News Agency]] |access-date=2018-11-19 |archive-date=1 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101095419/http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2018/11/01/0200000000AEN20181101002500315.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The buffer zones stretch from the north of the island Deokjeokdo to the south of the island Chodo in the West Sea and the north of [[Sokcho]] and south of Tongchon County in the East (Yellow) Sea.<ref name="ncnkdirect">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nknews.org/2018/10/two-koreas-end-military-drills-begin-operation-of-no-fly-zone-near-mdl-mnd/ |title=Two Koreas end military drills, begin operation of no-fly zone near MDL: MND|date=2018-10-31 |work=[[NK News]]|access-date=2018-11-19 |archive-date=1 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301214418/https://www.nknews.org/2018/10/two-koreas-end-military-drills-begin-operation-of-no-fly-zone-near-mdl-mnd/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

No-fly zones have also been established along the DMZ to ban the operation of drones, helicopters and other aircraft over an area up to {{cvt|40|km|}} away from the MDL.<ref name=nov1 /> For [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|UAVs]], within {{cvt|15|km|}} from the MDL in the East and {{cvt|10|km|}} from the MDL in the West.<ref name=nov1effect /> Hot-air balloons cannot travel within {{cvt|25|km|}} of the DMZ as well.<ref name=nov1effect /> For fixed-wing aircraft, no fly zones are designated within {{cvt|40|km|}} from the MDL in the East (between MDL Markers No. 0646 and 1292) and within {{cvt|20|km|}} of the MDL in the West (between MDL Markers No. 0001 and 0646).<ref name=ncnkdirect /> For [[rotary-wing aircraft]], the no fly zones are designated within {{cvt|10|km|}} of the MDL.<ref name=ncnkdirect />

Both Koreas also created "peace zones" near their [[Border dispute|disputed]] Yellow Sea border.<ref name=nov1 />

==Reconnecting of MDL-crossing road==
On 22 November 2018, North and South Korea completed construction to connect a {{convert|3|km|adj=on|spell=in|sp=us}} road along the DMZ, {{cvt|90|km}} northeast of Seoul.<ref name=nov22kr>{{cite news |url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20181122006452315?section=national/defense |title=(2nd LD) Koreas connect road inside heavily fortified DMZ |newspaper=[[Yonhap News Agency]] |date=21 November 2018 |access-date=10 July 2022 |archive-date=2 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102090459/https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20181122006452315?section=national%2Fdefense |url-status=live |author1=송상호 }}</ref><ref name=nov22>{{cite web |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/south-north-korea-connect-border-road-through-dmz/1318769 |title=South, North Korea connect border road through DMZ |access-date=24 November 2018 |archive-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717155204/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/south-north-korea-connect-border-road-through-dmz/1318769 |url-status=live}}</ref> This road, which crosses the Korean MDL land border, consists of {{cvt|1.7|km}} in South Korea and {{cvt|1.3|km}} in North Korea.<ref name=nov22 /> The road was reconnected for the first time in 14 years in an effort to assist with a process at the DMZ's Arrowhead Hill involving the removal of landmines and exhumation of Korean War remains.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asianews.it/news-en/After-14-years,-a-road-to-unite-the-Koreas-and-recover-the-remains-of-the-fallen-45545.html |title=After 14 years, a road to unite the Koreas and recover the remains of the fallen |access-date=25 November 2018 |archive-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717155204/http://www.asianews.it/news-en/After-14-years,-a-road-to-unite-the-Koreas-and-recover-the-remains-of-the-fallen-45545.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/north-south-korea-join-roads-124905264.html |title=North and South Korea join roads after 14 years |agency=Reuters |date=23 November 2018 |via=Yahoo.com |access-date=25 November 2018 |archive-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717155202/https://www.yahoo.com/news/north-south-korea-join-roads-124905264.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/national/north-and-south-korea-join-roads-after-14-years/video/af8a644187eb15024a900b16826ebd24 |url-status=dead |title=North and South Korea join roads after 14 years |work=Cairns Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125111229/https://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/national/north-and-south-korea-join-roads-after-14-years/video/af8a644187eb15024a900b16826ebd24 |archive-date=25 November 2018}}</ref>

==Presence of landmines and Korean War remains==
On 1 October 2018, North and South Korean military engineers began a scheduled 20 day removal process of landmines and other explosives planted across the JSA.<ref name=bbckoreaoct /><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/01/north-south-korea-begin-removing-landmines-along-fortified-border/ |title=North and South Korea begin removing landmines along fortified DMZ |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=October 2018 |agency=Reuters |access-date=1 October 2018 |archive-date=2 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002012836/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/01/north-south-korea-begin-removing-landmines-along-fortified-border/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=oct1>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-korea-south-korea-removing-land-mines-dmz-panmunjom-arrow-head-hill/ |title=North and South Korea begin removing mines along DMZ |website=[[CBS News]] |date=October 2018 |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-date=5 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205125431/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-korea-south-korea-removing-land-mines-dmz-panmunjom-arrow-head-hill/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Work to remove landmines from the Joint Security Area was completed on 25 October 2018.<ref name=bbckoreaoct /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3054494 |title=In 19 days, land mines are cleared from JSA |date=19 October 2018 |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-date=6 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106050509/http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=3054494 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/10/356_257291.html |title=Two Koreas finish landmine cleanup in JSA. What's next? |date=19 October 2018 |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-date=27 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127152056/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/10/356_257291.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://pulsenews.co.kr/view.php?year=2018&no=653231 |title=Two Koreas complete demining and on path to make JSA arms-free – Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-date=19 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019205627/https://pulsenews.co.kr/view.php?year=2018&no=653231 |url-status=live}}</ref> Demining had begun at the DMZ's Arrowhead Hill and resulted in the discovery of Korean War remains.<ref name=oct25nov30>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/south-korea-finds-war-remains-border-demining-58732705 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025103243/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/south-korea-finds-war-remains-border-demining-58732705 |archive-date=2018-10-25 |title=South Korea finds likely war remains during border demining – ABC News |website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20181025/news/310259972 |title=South Korea finds likely war remains during border demining |date=25 October 2018 |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-date=28 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128000753/https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20181025/news/310259972 |url-status=live}}</ref> Work between both Koreas to remove landmines from Arrowhead Hill was completed on 30 November 2018.<ref name=belarusnov30>{{cite web |url=https://eng.belta.by/society/view/koreas-complete-work-on-removing-some-guard-posts-land-mines-in-dmz-116996-2018/ |title=Koreas complete work on removing some guard posts, land mines in DMZ |date=30 November 2018 |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-date=30 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130203534/https://eng.belta.by/society/view/koreas-complete-work-on-removing-some-guard-posts-land-mines-in-dmz-116996-2018/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=nov30kr>{{cite news |url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20181130002400315 |title=Koreas to complete work to remove some guard posts, land mines in DMZ |newspaper=[[Yonhap News Agency]] |date=30 November 2018 |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-date=30 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130202133/https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20181130002400315 |url-status=live |last1=Song |first1=Sang-Ho }}</ref>

==Military Border Crossing==
On 12 December 2018, militaries from both Koreas crossed the DMZ's MDL into the opposition countries for the first time in history to inspect and verify the removal of "frontline" guard posts.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-korea-south-korea-troops-cross-demilitarized-zone-in-peace-first-time/ |title=Troops cross North-South Korea Demilitarized Zone in peace for 1st time ever |website=[[CBS News]] |date=12 December 2018 |access-date=12 December 2018 |archive-date=6 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806032557/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-korea-south-korea-troops-cross-demilitarized-zone-in-peace-first-time/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/north-and-south-korean-soldiers-enter-each-others-territory/north-invades-the-south/slideshow/67057861.cms |title=North and South Korean soldiers enter each other's territory |date=12 December 2018 |newspaper=The Economic Times |access-date=9 February 2019 |archive-date=16 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216000253/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/north-and-south-korean-soldiers-enter-each-others-territory/north-invades-the-south/slideshow/67057861.cms |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Meeting of Trump, Kim, and Moon at the DMZ==
{{Main|2019 Koreas–United States DMZ Summit}}
[[File:President Trump Meets with Chairman Kim Jong Un (48164813552).jpg|thumb|Trump with the North and South Korean leaders. This is the first time an American president entered the zone.]]

On 30 June 2019, U.S. president [[Donald Trump]] became the first sitting U.S. president to enter North Korea, doing so at the DMZ line.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trump-travel-dmz-meet-kim-jong/story?id=64042883 |title=President Trump becomes 1st president to step inside North Korea ahead of meeting with Kim Jong Un |website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |access-date=30 June 2019 |archive-date=28 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128214011/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trump-travel-dmz-meet-kim-jong/story?id=64042883 |url-status=live}}</ref> After crossing into North Korea, Trump and North Korean chairman [[Kim Jong Un]] met and shook hands.<ref name="cnnjune30" />  Kim stated, in Korean, "It's good to see you again", "I never expected to meet you at this place" and "you are the first U.S. president to cross the border."<ref name=cnnjune30 /> Both men then briefly crossed the border line before crossing back into South Korea.<ref name=cnnjune30>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/29/politics/kim-jong-un-donald-trump-dmz-north-korea/index.html |title=Trump takes 20 steps into North Korea, making history as first sitting US leader to enter hermit nation |first=Kevin |last=Liptak |website=CNN |date=29 June 2019 |access-date=30 June 2019 |archive-date=1 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701041042/https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/29/politics/kim-jong-un-donald-trump-dmz-north-korea/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

On the South Korean side of the DMZ, Kim, South Korean president [[Moon Jae-in]], and Trump held a brief chat before holding an hour-long [[2019 Koreas–United States DMZ Summit|meeting]] at the DMZ's [[Inter-Korean House of Freedom]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.9news.com.au/world/trump-offers-to-meet-n-korea-s-kim-in-dmz/a39ece8d-fc6b-4ab8-81c8-af8b28f89415 |title=Talks to reopen after Trump-Kim meeting – 9News |website=www.9news.com.au |date=30 June 2019 |access-date=30 June 2019 |archive-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214233438/https://www.9news.com.au/world/trump-offers-to-meet-n-korea-s-kim-in-dmz/a39ece8d-fc6b-4ab8-81c8-af8b28f89415 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/30/trumps-press-secretary-bruised-after-jostling-with-north-korea-security-over-media-report-says/ |title=Trump's press secretary bruised after jostling with North Korea security over media, report says |first=Hannah |last=Knowles |date=2019-06-30 |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=30 June 2019 |archive-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214233456/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/30/trumps-press-secretary-bruised-after-jostling-with-north-korea-security-over-media-report-says/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Pilgrimages==
An annual youth [[pilgrimage]] including a 6-day peace walk to the DMZ is organised by the Catholic Church. The first pilgrimage took place in 2012. Young people from 15 countries attended the 2019 pilgrimage.<ref>Gomes, R., [https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2019-08/korea-wind-of-peace-pilgrimage-dmz-yeom.html World youth participate in Korea's peace pilgrimage to DMZ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920233703/https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2019-08/korea-wind-of-peace-pilgrimage-dmz-yeom.html |date=20 September 2022 }}, Vatican News, published 19 August 2019, accessed 20 September 2022</ref> The 2022 pilgrimage included visits to the [[Ulleungdo]] and [[Dokdo]] islands.<ref>"Archbishop calls for reconciliation and unification", ''The Catholic Post'', September 2022, page 14</ref>

==See also==
*[[Bamboo Curtain]]
*[[Iron Curtain]]
*[[List of border incidents involving North and South Korea]]
*[[Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission]]
*[[North Korea–South Korea relations]]
*[[Peace lines]]
*[[United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus]]
*[[Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Paige 1967">{{cite journal |last=Paige |first=Glenn D. |author-link=Glenn D. Paige |date=January 1967 |title=1966: Korea Creates the Future |jstor=2642450 |journal=Asian Survey – A Survey of Asia in 1966: Part I |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=21–30 |doi=10.2307/2642450}}</ref>
}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |title=Shield of the Great Leader. The Armed Forces of North Korea |last=Bermudez |first=Joseph S. |year=2001 |publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]] |location=Sydney |series=The Armed Forces of Asia |isbn=978-1-86448-582-0}}
*{{cite news |publisher=[[CNN World News]] |title=South Korea warns North will pay 'harsh price' over DMZ landmine blasts |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/09/asia/koreas-tensions/ |first1=Jethro |last1=Mullen |first2=Kathy |last2=Novak |date=10 August 2015 |access-date=24 February 2017 |archive-date=25 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225053247/http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/09/asia/koreas-tensions/ |url-status=live}}
*Elferink, Alex G. Oude, (1994). ''The Law of Maritime Boundary Delimitation: a Case Study of the Russian Federation.'' Dordrecht: [[Martinus Nijhoff]]. {{ISBN|9780792330820}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/123566768 OCLC 123566768] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525082637/http://www.worldcat.org/title/law-of-maritime-boundary-delimitation-a-case-study-of-the-russian-federation/oclc/123566768 |date=25 May 2019 }}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.mmg.mpg.de/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/wp/WP_14-07_Jung%20Ballooning%20Evangelism.pdf |title=Ballooning Evangelism: Psychological Warfare and Christianity in the Divided Korea |last=Jung |first=Jin-Heon |date=2014 |website=[[Max Planck Institute]] |series=MMG Working Paper |issue=14–07 |pages=7–33 |access-date=27 June 2015 |issn=2192-2357 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630054302/http://www.mmg.mpg.de/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/wp/WP_14-07_Jung%20Ballooning%20Evangelism.pdf |archive-date=30 June 2015 |url-status=dead}}
{{refend}}
* D.P – netflix show ( based on D.P Dog Days – the webtoon )

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
*[https://www.chris-toone.com/blog/dmzsouthkorea/ Touring the DMZ in South Korea] What it's like to stand at the border, 2017
*[https://www.flickr.com/photos/imcomkorea/sets/72157607715383952// U.S. Army official Korean Demilitarized Zone image archive]
*[http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/america/2008/01/too_sexy_for_the_dmz.html Washington Post Correspondent Amar Bakshi travels to the Korean Demilitarized Zone... And uncovers the world's most dangerous tourist trap], January 2008.
*[https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11355-005-0006-0 Status and ecological resource value of the Republic of Korea's De-militarized Zone]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6cIUKOqPMI Tour Of DMZ on YouTube. Dec. 2007]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ediz1vuwt0 Tour of DMZ from the DPRK on YouTube, 2016]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XK4PPmi6AE 360 degree tour of DMZ from the DPRK on YouTube, 2016]
*[http://www.dmzforum.org/ DMZ Forum: Collaborative international NGO focusing on promoting peace and conservation within the Korean DMZ region]
*[https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/power-players-abc-news/inside-tour-scariest-place-earth-072912137.html ABCNews/Yahoo! report/blog on the DMZ]
*[http://www.earthnutshell.com/the-worlds-most-dangerous-border-a-tour-of-north-koreas-dmz/ The World's Most Dangerous Border – A Tour of North Korea's DMZ] Visiting the DMZ from Pyongyang.
*[http://worldbybike.com/goodbye-north-korea/#gallery/3432/15253 Photo of road linking DPRK to Paju, ROK]
*[https://fall.law.fsu.edu/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS022.pdf International Boundary Study No. 22 – May 24, 1963 Korea "Military Demarcation Line" Boundary] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803035530/https://fall.law.fsu.edu/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS022.pdf |date=3 August 2020 }}
*[https://infomap.travel/en/contexts/traveling-along-the-korean-demilitarized-zone/113#map Interactive map with points of interest along the DMZ]

{{Portal bar|North Korea|South Korea}}
{{Korea topics}}
{{Borders of North Korea}}
{{North Korea–South Korea relations}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|38.32|127.20|display=title}}

[[Category:Korean Demilitarized Zone| ]]
[[Category:1953 introductions]]
[[Category:1953 establishments in Korea]]
[[Category:Military installations established in 1953]]
[[Category:Border barriers]]
[[Category:Demilitarized zones]]
[[Category:International borders]]
[[Category:Biosphere reserves of South Korea]]
[[Category:Cold War terminology]]
[[Category:Korean reunification]]
[[Category:Military of North Korea]]
[[Category:Military history of Korea]]
[[Category:North Korea–South Korea border]]
[[Category:North Korea–South Korea relations]]