As the relationship between North and South Korea has relaxed there are plans for development, such as an international trade center and tourism programs that would bring parking lots and other structures into the midst of this critical habitat. These animals have learned to live peacefully under the watchful eyes of soldiers in a land strewn with mines. Among the species making their homes in the DMZ are endangered Asian cranes, black-faced spoonbills, angora goats, Amur leopards, and even bears. Otherwise, the only people in the DMZ are soldiers and observers, with little in the way of permanent settlement or structures.Īn interesting and unintended consequence of the armistice is that this swath of land has been protected from urbanization and cultivation for the past 50 years while populations on both sides of the zone have grown tremendously. On the southern side, the small village of Daeseong-dong exists with 225 residents who harvest crops on land within the DMZ. Recent negotiations between the two sides have allowed for some roads and railroads running through the DMZ to be reconnected. A fence marks the center along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) the wider zone is known as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). This buffer zone contains river deltas and grasslands toward its western end, but is mostly mountainous terrain in the east.Īccording to the terms of the armistice, there are no large troop placements in the area and all heavy weapons such as tanks and artillery pieces are banned.
The armistice provided for a 4-km-wide (2.5-mile) buffer zone running west to east roughly along the 38th parallel. One legacy of that 50-year-old ceasefire has been the 250-km-long (148-mile) truce line bisecting the Korean Peninsula into northern and southern halves. On July 27, 1953, an armistice agreement brought fighting, though not the war itself, to an end in Korea.
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