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Korean Demilitarized Zone

Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
한반도 비무장지대
韓半島非武裝地帶

Hanbando Bimujangjidae
Korean Peninsula
Korea DMZ.svg
The Korean DMZ is shown in red with the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) denoted by the black line.
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 (1953-07-27) – present
Events Division of Korea

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ; Hangul한반도 비무장지대; Hanja韓半島非武裝地帶) is a highly militarized strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula. It was established at the end of the Korean War to serve as a buffer zone between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The DMZ is a de facto 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. Several tunnels are claimed to have been built as an invasion route for the North Koreans.

The Korean Demilitarized Zone crosses the 38th parallel north 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

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