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Korean Demilitarized Zone
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demilitarized zone in Korea
The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a 2.5-mile-wide border area between North and South Korea that was established in 1953 as part of the armistice agreement that paused the Korean War. It remains one of the world's most heavily fortified borders and serves as a physical and political barrier between the two countries, making it significant for understanding ongoing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
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Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- demilitarized zone
- Country
- North Korea
- Located in
- North Korea
- Image
- DMZ view from Site 7 - looking west (279668935).jpg
Show 5 more facts
- native label
- 한반도 비무장지대(韓半島非武裝地帶)
- Commons category
- Demilitarized Zone of Korea
- topic's main category
- Category:Korean Demilitarized Zone
- Commons gallery
- Korean Demilitarized Zone
- inception
- 1953-00-00
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
The Korean Demilitarized Zone (Korean: 한반도/조선반도 비무장 지대), also known as the Korean DMZ or the KDMZ or simply the DMZ, is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula which intersects the 38th parallel north. The DMZ is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in half. It was established to serve as a demilitarized zone between the sovereign states of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) under the provisions of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953, an agreement between North Korea, China, and the United Nations Command.
The DMZ is 250 kilometers (160 mi) long and about 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) wide. On either side of the zone the border is heavily militarized. The zone is a frontline in the ongoing Korean conflict. There have been various incidents in and around the DMZ, with military and civilian casualties on both sides. Within the DMZ is a meeting point between the two Korean states, where negotiations take place: the small Joint Security Area (JSA) near the western end of the zone, not far from the South Korean capital Seoul.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Korean Demilitarized Zone” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.