Category: DMZ

It seems ridiculous to me to allow civilians to access the DMZ without coordination from the UNC:

South Korean soldiers and United Nations Command soldiers stand guard near the military demarcation line separating the two Koreas at the Joint Security Area of the demilitarized zone in the truce village of Panmunjeom, Oct. 4, 2022. AFP-Yonhap

The U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) reasserted its authority Wednesday over the thin, landmine-strewn strip separating the two Koreas, signaling a widening rift with South Korea’s ruling party and the Ministry of Unification over who controls access to the demilitarized zone.

“The substantive provisions within the Armistice Agreement make it clear that the UNC commander is responsible for military and civil administration within the southern half of the DMZ,” a UNC official said during a closed-door briefing in Seoul.

The remarks come as debate intensifies over proposed legislation that would allow civilians to enter the demilitarized zone without prior approval from the UNC. Under the Armistice Agreement that halted the Korean War in 1953, all access to the zone currently requires UNC authorization.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Now it appears the Lee administration is trying to give up territory within the DMZ to appease North Korea:

The American-led United Nations Command (UNC) has said a Military Demarcation Line (MDL) marking the boundary between the two Koreas has been under its authority, in an apparent objection to an internal revision by South Korea’s military over land border rules to prevent accidental clashes with North Korea.

The UNC said in statement to Yonhap News Agency, “The United Nations Command reaffirms its commitment to maintaining the Armistice Agreement, including the MDL, and to supporting measures that prevent escalation and promote stability within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).”

The statement came when asked how the UNC assessed the South Korean military’s envisioned revision of border rules, after the Korean military reportedly refined the MDL markers in order to reduce discrepancies between the two sides.

“The Military Demarcation Line was established and depicted in Map Volume I of the Korean Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953, following a series of armistice negotiations,” the UNC said.

Last week, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had ordered troops to prioritize markers that indicate the MDL when making decisions, while also “comprehensively” applying the South Korean military map and a line connecting MDL markers set out by the UNC when they are difficult to discern.

Critics say the move favors North Korean troops by allowing the military to use a line drawn farther south when determining whether a border crossing has occurred.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out:

The United Nations Command (UNC) has issued a rare press release stressing its authority over access to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

It comes amid growing debate in South Korea over proposed legislation that would allow the Korean government to approve nonmilitary access to the DMZ.

According to the release posted on its website Tuesday, the UNC said that it, through the UNC Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC), has been the successful administrator of the DMZ, a role that has been essential in maintaining stability, especially amid periods of heightened inter-Korean tensions.

The United Nations Command (UNC) has issued a rare press release stressing its authority over access to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

It comes amid growing debate in South Korea over proposed legislation that would allow the Korean government to approve nonmilitary access to the DMZ.

According to the release posted on its website Tuesday, the UNC said that it, through the UNC Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC), has been the successful administrator of the DMZ, a role that has been essential in maintaining stability, especially amid periods of heightened inter-Korean tensions.

Korea Times

The ruling party wants to take control of DMZ access from the UNC to basically turn it into a park:

On Aug. 26, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)’s Policy Committee Chair Han Jeong-ae introduced a proposed law titled the “Support for Peaceful Use of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone).” The bill would allow peaceful non-military visits to the DMZ without prior approval from the United Nations Command (UNC). At present, all entry into the DMZ, regardless of purpose, requires UNC authorization. Han argues that this requirement unnecessarily restricts peaceful use and infringes on South Korean sovereignty, particularly because much of the DMZ south of the Military Demarcation Line lies on territory administered by the Republic of Korea. Under the proposal, access would be approved by South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, separate from the military provisions of the Armistice Agreement.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but it is very irresponsible to have civilians running around the DMZ without approval and tight control of the military. I can understand why the UNC is speaking out against this bad idea.

This is possibly being done in case North Korea tries to conduct some kind of provocation during the upcoming APEC summit that President Trump will be attending this month in South Korea:

South Korea has paused official tours of the Joint Security Area — a site shared with the North in the Demilitarized Zone — ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned visit to the Korean Peninsula. Tours of the JSA — already limited to military officials, distinguished visitors and media — will be suspended from the end of October through early November, Ministry of Unification spokesperson Koo Byongsam said Monday at a news conference. Koo said the ministry has “no specific information to disclose” about the decision and referred additional questions to United Nations Command, which oversees security and tours for the area.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but I would be very surprised if North Korea launches a provocation considering how President Trump has remained on good terms with Kim Jong-un.

It is kind of ironic that past liberal ROK administrations tore down many anti-tank barriers on the South Korean side of the DMZ and now the Kim regime are putting up their own barrier on the north side of the DMZ:

Satellite images obtained by a South Korean lawmaker show that the North is constructing a roughly 6-mile-long anti-tank barrier resembling the Cold War-era Berlin Wall, a lawmaker in Seoul said this week.

Four concrete barriers, each about 1 ½ miles long, are being built along the border with South Korea, according to a Tuesday news release from Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the conservative, main opposition People Power Party. The images were taken at an unspecified date by ICEYE, a Finland-based satellite company that has launched 44 satellites since 2018. The firm has offices in Japan, Poland, Spain and the United States, according to its website.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It appears the North Koreans are probing to see what they can get away with along the DMZ under the new Lee administration:

Around 30 North Korean troops recently crossed the inter-Korean border despite warning broadcasts, triggering warning shots from the South Korean military, a spokesperson of the U.S.-led U.N. Command (UNC) said Sunday, citing its investigation into the incident.

The spokesperson made the remarks in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency, a day after North Korea berated the South Korean military for having fired more than 10 warning shots at North Korean troops who were conducting a border reinforcement project last week.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I would rather North Korea would remove their artillery from the border than loudspeakers. When they do that then we will know they are serious about peace on the peninsula:

South Korea’s military said Saturday it detected North Korea removing some of its loudspeakers from the inter-Korean border, days after the South dismantled its own front-line speakers used for anti-North Korean propaganda broadcasts, in a bid to ease tensions. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t disclose the sites where the North Koreans were removing speakers and said it wasn’t immediately clear whether the North would take all of them down.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The personnel involved with catching the North Korean man who crossed the DMZ must have been really executing their responsibilities well to receive such recognition:

Two of the 10 South Korean soldiers who helped secure a North Korean man inside the Demilitarized Zone earlier this month were granted 30 days of leave, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. All 10 troops will receive commendations for their actions on July 3, when a North Korean man crossed the midwestern section of the heavily fortified border dividing the Korean Peninsula, a Joint Chiefs spokeswoman said by phone Thursday.

The group included two conscripts, who received the additional leave, and eight officers and noncommissioned officers, she said. South Korean forces deployed to interdict the man, who identified himself as a civilian, the South’s military said at the time. He was removed from the DMZ and remains under investigation.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.