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between Yanggu and Inje counties. Here

By Kim Jeong-su, environment correspondent 　

Over the past 60 years, the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea has shrunk by 43%, according to a report by Green Korea, presented at a press conference at the Green Education Center in Seoul’s Hyehwa neighborhood.

“North and South have both pushed the barbed wire they have laid on their sides of the DMZ closer to the opposing side,” Green Korea said. “As the average distance between the barbed wire on both sides has shrunk to 2.3km, the area of the DMZ has decreased from the original 992km2 to 570km2. This was confirmed by on-the-site research and analysis of satellite imagery.”

The DMZ was set up to be a 4km wide space straddling the 248km-long military demarcation line that emerged from the armistice that ended the combat phase of the Korean War. The armistice was signed on July 27, 1953.

While it was well known that North and South Korean incursion into the DMZ after the armistice was signed had reduced its size, this is the first time that a concrete estimate has been given of how much the DMZ has shrunk.

The results of the study by Green Korea show that it is virtually impossible to find a section of the 248km-long DMZ that maintains the 4km distance between the barbed wire on both sides, even though that is the distance stipulated in the armistice agreement.

Around Hoengsan Village in Yeoncheon County of Gyeonggi Province on the Western Front, the Imjin River flows between the two positions. There, the distance between the North and South Korean barbed wire is only 1.86km.

And around Baekhak Mountain near Bangmok Village, in Paju County, the barbed wire maintained by North and South Korea is not even 1.98km apart.

One of the best examples of a place where the space between the barbed wire has grown narrower is the central section of the Eastern Front in Yanggu County, Gangwon Province. In most of this area, the distance between the barbed wire fences is less than 2km.

The narrowest point is at Gachil Peak, between Yanggu and Inje counties. Here, North and South Korean fences are less than 700m apart.

Based on the figures and testimony collected by Green Korea, the shrinking of the DMZ began in 1965, when North Korea started pushing the North Korean border, which had been 2km north of the military demarcation line, an average of 500-700km closer to the military demarcation line.

South Korea retaliated by pushing the barbed wire it had laid at the South Korean border further north.

“North and South Korea moved forward a little at a time in order to secure areas that were useful for observing the movements of the enemy,” Green Korea said. “While they may not have crossed the military demarcation line, both North and South Korea did violate the armistice agreement.”

Green Korea explains that North Korea strung new, high-voltage electric wire across the entire DMZ in 1986. As they installed this wire closer to the military demarcation line, South Korea moved some of its own barbed wire closer to North Korea. It was at this point that the DMZ once again was significantly reduced in size.

“In addition to being a buffer zone blocking military clashes between North and South Korea, the DMZ has also functioned as a major ecosystem on the Korean peninsula,” said Seo Jae-cheol, natural ecology office chief for Green Korea. Because of this, the DMZ shrinking means not only that there is a greater risk of armed clashes between North and South Korea but also that there is a larger danger of the ecosystem being damaged.“

”The DMZ is already damaged enough,“ Seo said. ”The government’s plan to build a peace park in the DMZ must not be carried out in a way that would further damage the DMZ.“

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