Korean Demilitarized Zone

Map of the Korean DMZ. The DMZ is given in red. The demarcation line runs in the middle of the DMZ (black line).

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (Korean: 한반도의 군사 분계선) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and the east end lying north of it. It is 155 miles (248 km) long and approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, and is the most heavily armed border in the world.[1][2]

Contents

History

Panmunjeom, the Joint Security Area in the DMZ. View from the north
Joint Security Area, view from the south
Joint Security Area, view from the south
Republic of Korea Military Police soldier's arm band
Main article: Division of Korea

The 38th parallel north — which cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half — was the original boundary between the UN-controlled and Soviet-controlled 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.

Both the North and the South remained heavily dependent on their sponsor states from 1948 through to the outbreak of the Korean War. The conflict, which claimed over three million lives and divided the Korean Peninsula along ideological lines, commenced on June 25, 1950, with a Soviet-sponsored DPRK invasion across the DMZ, and ended in 1953 after international intervention pushed the front of the war back to near the 38th parallel. In the ceasefire of July 27, 1953, the DMZ was created as each side agreed in the armistice to move their troops back 2,000 metres (2,200 yd) from the front line, creating a buffer zone 2.5 miles (4 km) wide. The Military Demarcation Line (MDL) goes down the center of the DMZ and indicates exactly where the front was when the agreement was signed. Since the armistice agreement was never followed by a peace treaty, the two Koreas are still technically at war.

Owing to this theoretical stalemate, and genuine hostility between the North and the South, large numbers of troops are still stationed along both sides of the line, each side guarding against potential aggression from the other side. 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. Sporadic outbreaks of violence due to North Korean hostilities killed over 500 South Korean soldiers and 50 U.S. soldiers along the DMZ between 1953 and 1999.[3]

Incursions

Since its demarcation, the DMZ has had numerous cases of incursions mostly by the North Koreans, although the North Korean government never acknowledges direct responsibility for any of these incidents[4]. Some instances include:

Joint Security Area

Main article: Joint Security Area

Inside the DMZ, near the western coast of the peninsula, is a place called Panmunjeom, home of the Joint Security Area (JSA); it is the only place where North and South connect.

There are several buildings on both the north and the south side of the Military Demarcation Line, and a few which are built right on top of the MDL. The Joint Security Area is the location where all negotiations since 1953 have been held, including statements of Korean solidarity, which have generally amounted to little except a slight decline of tensions. 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.

Though generally calm, the DMZ has been the scene of much saber-rattling between the two Koreas over the years. Several small skirmishes have occurred within the Joint Security Area since 1953. The Axe Murder Incident in August 1976 involved the attempted trimming of a poplar tree which resulted in two deaths (CPT Arthur Bonifas and 1LT Mark Barrett) and Operation Paul Bunyan. Before this time, the soldiers of both sides were permitted to go back and forth across the MDL inside of the JSA, a privilege since revoked as a result of this incident.

Another incident occurred later when a Soviet dignitary, who was part of an official trip to the JSA (hosted by the North), ran across the MDL yelling that he wanted to defect. North Korean troops opened fire and chased him across the line. South Korean troops, protecting the defector, fired back and eventually surrounded the North Koreans. One South Korean soldier was killed in the incident. The defector expressed joy in his successful attempt but was saddened by the loss of life. Since this incident, the North Korean soldiers face one another when guarding the border so that they are keeping an eye on each other. This is to keep them from defecting. They are ordered to shoot anyone who attempts to defect before they reach the line.

Incursion tunnels

Starting on November 15, 1974, the South discovered four tunnels leading under the DMZ. The first of the tunnels was discovered by a South Korean Army patrol, noticing steam rising from the ground. The initial discovery was met with machine gun fire from North Korean soldiers. Five days later, during a subsequent exploration of this tunnel, U.S. Navy Commander Robert M. Ballinger and ROK Marine Corps Major Kim Hah Chul were killed in an explosion triggered from North Korea, along with the wounding of six additional United Nations Command personnel, five American and one South Korean. This first tunnel was about 3 by 4 feet (0.9 m × 1.2 m) and extended over 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) beyond the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). When the first tunnel was discovered, it was reinforced with concrete slabs, electric power and lighting, weapons storage and sleeping areas and had a narrow gauge railway with carts, capable of allowing approximately 2,000 soldiers per hour to traverse it. The second was discovered on March 19, 1975, of similar length, between 50 and 160 meters (160 and 520 ft) below ground, but was larger than the first, approximately 2 by 2 meters (6.6 ft × 6.6 ft). The third tunnel was discovered on October 17, 1978. Unlike the previous two, the third tunnel was discovered following a tip off from a North Korean defector. This tunnel is about 1,600 meters (5,200 ft) long and about 150 meters (490 ft) below ground. A fourth tunnel was discovered on March 3, 1990. It is almost identical in structure to the second and the third tunnels.[6]

The tunnels were dug by North Korea and are presumed for use by the military as an invasion route. Each tunnel is large enough to permit the passage of an entire division in one hour. All the tunnels run in a north-south direction and do not branch off. The planning for the tunnels got progressively more advanced (for example, the third tunnel slopes upward slightly as it progresses southward, so that water does not stagnate). The orientation of the blasting lines within each one indicates that North Korea dug the tunnels. Upon their discovery, the North claimed that they were for coal mining; however, no coal can be found in the tunnels, which are dug through granite, but some of the tunnel walls were at some point painted black to give the appearance of coal.

Today, it is possible to visit some of the tunnels as part of guided tours from the South. Some of the famous tunnel tours include the Third Tunnel of Aggression which was discovered in the 1970s.

Propaganda

Buildings

The tallest flagpole in the world, in Kijong-dong.
A portion of the northern boundary of the DMZ as seen from the Joint Security Area in January 1976

The North Korean building facing South Korea in the Joint Security Area is sometimes said not to be a real building but, "a façade designed to look large and impressive, in reality only a frame a few feet (1 m) thick." However, accounts from tourists having visited the northern side of the JSA have revealed that it is in fact a real building.[7]

Flagpole

During the 1980s, the South Korean government built a 98.4 metre (328 ft) tall flagpole in Daeseong-dong. The North Korean government responded by building a taller one — the tallest in the world at 160 metres (525 ft) in Kijong-dong.[8]

Korean wall

The Korean wall is a concrete barrier that is allegedly built along the length of the DMZ in South Korea between 1977 and 1979. The nature of the barrier is disputed. Peter Tetteroo shows footage of what he believes (at the prompting of his North Korean guides) to be the Korean Wall, dismissing South Korean denials as propaganda.[9]

A South Korean / UN outpost guarding the southern boundary of the DMZ as seen from North Korea
The Korean Wall in the Demilitarized Zone between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. It is seen through binoculars placed in an outpost in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea). It is extremely difficult to tell if this is actually an earthern wall or merely a clear-cut zone (notice left side) viewed from an angle that makes it look like it could be a wall. The picture makes it unclear whether the wall is concrete or made of other materials.

North Korea contends that "In the area south of the Military Demarcation Line, which cuts across our country at its waist, there is a concrete wall which...stretches more than 240 km (150 mi) from east to west, is five to eight meters (16 to 26 ft) high, 10 to 19 m (32 to 62 ft) thick at the bottom, and 3 to 7 m (10 to 23 ft) wide in the upper part. It is set with wire entanglements and dotted with gun embrasures, look-outs and varieties of military establishments....the South Korean rulers built this wall over a period of many years from 1977. They consumed over 800,000 tons of cement, over 200,000 tons of steel, and over 3.5 million cubic meters (123.6 million cu ft) of gravel and sand...".

As described by the DPRK the south side of the wall is packed with earth, which permits access to the top of the wall and makes it effectively invisible from the south side. North Korea claims that the US constructed the wall to humiliate and divide the Korean people, similar to the Berlin Wall, and to serve as a bridgehead for northward invasion.[10] Skeptics contend that if the wall does exist, and built as described by North Korea, it would be unsuitable for use as a bridgehead, as any vehicles attempting a crossing from the south would fall five to eight meters (16 to 26 ft) and become damaged and useless. However the DPRK claims that there are tanks (in contravention to the laws of the DMZ) inside the wall (driven through openings on the southern side) that would allow an invasion to take place.

According to the United States Government, the wall as described does not exist, although there are shorter anti-tank barriers along portions of the DMZ.[11]

Transportation

Panmunjeom (RR)/P'anmunjŏm (MR) is the site of the negotiations that ended the Korean War and is the main centre of human activity in the DMZ. The village is located on the main highway and railway line (called the Gyeongui Line before division and today in the South and the P'yŏngbu Line in the north) connecting Seoul and P'yŏngyang. The highway is used on rare occasions to move people between the two countries, and to bring supplies to South Korean factories located in North Korea (much like Checkpoint Charlie in East and West Berlin), and the railway line is currently being reconnected as part of the general thawing in the relations between North and South. A new road and rail connection is also being built on the Donghae Bukbu (Tonghae Pukpu) Line.

Wildlife

Except in the area around the truce village of Panmunjeom and more recently on the Donghae Bukbu Line on the east coast, humans have not entered the DMZ in the last fifty years. This isolation has created one of the most well-preserved pieces of temperate land in the world. Environmentalists hope that if reunification occurs the former DMZ will become a wildlife refuge. However, there will be significant obstacles to maintaining the site because of the high concentration of landmines across the area.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "DMZ". Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
  2. ↑ "Soldier of Fortune Magazine". Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
  3. ↑ Salon Wanderlust | Korea's no-man's-land
  4. ↑ North Korea: Chronology of Provocations, 1950 - 2003
  5. ↑ Scenes from an Unfinished War: Low-Intensity Conflict in Korea, 1966-1968
  6. ↑ "Demilitarized Zone". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
  7. ↑ Account of a tourist's visit to the North Korean side of the DMZ.
  8. ↑ "CNN.com - Korea's DMZ: 'Scariest place on Earth' - February 20, 2002". Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
  9. ↑ Welcome to North Korea, a film by Peter Tetteroo for KRO Television
  10. ↑ "Tear Down the Korean Wall", DPRK UN Mission (December 3, 1999). Retrieved on 2007-10-29. 
  11. ↑ New York Times, 1999

External links