Korean Demilitarized Zone

The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a symbol of ideological dispute between North and South Korea, winds 155 miles across the Korean Peninsula. Stretching from from the Han River to the East Coast, it ranges 2 km north and south of the Military Demarcation Line, covering a vast region of 64 million sq. ft. Devoid of people, rare plants and animals exist in an unnatural nature preserve. Peace and tension coexist on a daily basis.
The 38th parallel north—which cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half—was the original boundary between the US-occupied and Soviet-occupied areas of Korea at the end of World War II. Upon the creation of the Democratic People's North Korea and the South Korea in 1948, it became a 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 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 invasion across the 38th parallel, 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 m from the front line, creating a buffer zone 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.
Since November 15, 1974, the South has discovered four tunnels crossing the DMZ dug by North Korea. This is indicated by the orientation of the blasting lines within each tunnel. Upon their discovery, North Korea claimed that the tunnels were for coal mining; however, no coal has been found in the tunnels, which are dug through granite, but some of the tunnel walls have been painted black to give the appearance of anthracite.

The tunnels are believed to have been planned as a military invasion route by North Korea. Each shaft is large enough to permit the passage of an entire infantry division in one hour, though the tunnels are not wide enough for tanks or vehicles. All the tunnels run in a north-south direction and do not have branches. Engineering within the tunnels, following each discovery, has become progressively more advanced. For example, the third tunnel sloped slightly upwards as it progressed southward, to prevent water stagnation. Today, overseas visitors may visit the third tunnel during guided tours of the area.

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.
In recent years, the two Koreas have attempted to reconnect people as well. When it was built, the DMZ separated families as well as armies; the mines and barbed wire blocked travel and harsh restrictions were placed on communications between North and South. The two Koreas agreed in June 2000 to allow limited reunions of some of the region's estimated 1.2 million family members separated by the border. The first of those reunions came two months later, with 100 people from each side flying to meet family members in the opposing Korea's capital.