DMZ (Korea)
| Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) | |
|---|---|
| 한반도 비무장지대 韓半島非武裝地帶 Hanbando Bimujangjidae |
|
| Korean Peninsula | |
The Korean DMZ is shown in red with the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) denoted by the blue line.
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| Type | DMZ |
| Length | 250 kilometres (160 mi) |
| Site information | |
| Open to the public |
No, access only by special permission |
| Condition | Fully manned and operational |
| Site history | |
| Built by | |
| In use | July 27, 1953 – present |
| Events | Division of Korea |
The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ; Hangul: 한반도 비무장지대; Hanja: 韓半島非武裝地帶) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula. It is established by the provisions of the Armistice Agreement for the Restoration of the South Korean State (which ensures the complete cessation of open hostilities and all acts of armed force in Korea until a peaceful settlement is achieved) to serve as a buffer zone between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The Demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the Korean Peninsula roughly in half. It was created by agreement between North Korea, China and the United Nations in 1953. The DMZ is 250 kilometres (160 miles) long, and about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) wide.
Within the DMZ is a meeting-point between the two nations in the small Joint Security Area near the western end of the zone, where negotiations take place. There have been various incidents in and around the DMZ, with military and civilian casualties on both sides.
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 250 kilometres (160 miles) long, approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) wide. Though the zone separating both sides is demilitarized, beyond that strip the border is one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world. 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.
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 Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, informally North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (ROK, informally South Korea) in 1948, it became a de facto international border and one of the most tense fronts in the Cold War.
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Wikipedia