Tag: DMZ

Notice how this is currently one sided appeasement because the North Koreans have not indicated whether they will comply with the no fly zone that South Korea is implementing. Additionally I am still waiting for the North Koreans to apologize for their drone incursions into South Korea which will likely never happen:

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young speaks to reporters at a press briefing on Feb. 18, 2026. (Yonhap)

South Korea will seek to reinstate a no-fly zone over the border with North Korea under the suspended 2018 inter-Korean military pact aimed at easing tensions, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Wednesday. 

Chung disclosed the plan at a press briefing after expressing regret earlier this month over drones sent into North Korea by South Korean civilians, which the North denounced as a violation of its sovereignty.

“In cooperation with our military authorities, (the government) will preemptively review and seek to reinstate the September 19 inter-Korean military pact, including the designation of a no-fly zone,” Chung said. 

The minister said the action is aimed at preventing any unintended military clash and building trust between the two militaries.

The no-fly zone under the 2018 pact prohibits the operation of planes and drones within 15 kilometers of the Demilitarized Zone in eastern areas and 10 km in western parts.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

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.

It is suprising that it has been eight years since the U.S. Secretary of Defense War has made a visit to the JSA:

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a joint visit to the Joint Security Area (JSA) at the truce village of Panmunjeom on Monday, marking the first such appearance by the defense chiefs of the two allies in eight years.

The visit took place one day before the 57th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Seoul, where both sides are expected to review the alliance’s key security agenda, including South Korea’s nuclear-powered submarine program and the long-awaited transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON).

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The U.S. Secretary of Defense also known as the Secretary of War will be visiting Korea and Japan next week:

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas and meet with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during his visit to the Asian country next week, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday.

Hegseth is set to kick off a two-day visit to South Korea next Monday in his first trip to the Asian country since taking office early this year. Korea is the last leg of his Asia swing that includes stops in Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Upon arrival in Korea, the secretary, along with Seoul’s Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, plans to visit the Joint Security Area inside the DMZ and have a chance to meet Korean and American troops stationed at the DMZ, the official said during a briefing to the press traveling with Hegseth.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

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.