Military Demarcation Line
| Military Demarcation Line | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 군사분계선 / 휴전선 |
| Hanja | 軍事分界線 / 休戰線 |
| Revised Romanization | Gunsabungyeseon / Hyujeonseon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kunsabungyesŏn / Hyujŏnsŏn |
The Military Demarcation Line (MDL), sometimes referred to as the Armistice Line, is the border or demarcation line between North Korea and South Korea. On either side of the line is the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). It was established as the Armistice line at the end of Korean War in 1953. The Military Demarcation Line runs over land.
At sea, the two Koreas are divided by the Northern Limit Line (NLL). A western maritime boundary was drawn by the United Nations in 1953.[1] The NLL is not described by the Korean Armistice Agreement.[2]
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[edit] Demarcation on land
The DMZ runs near the 38th parallel, covering roughly 248 kilometers.[3] American and South Korean soldiers patrol this line along the South Korean side while North Korean soldiers patrol along the North Korean side. There have been frequent skirmishes along the line since the end of the Korean War.
In Korean, the line is called the Hyujeonseon, or "ceasefire line." It is also sometimes called the Gunsa Bungye-seon (군사분계선), which literally means "military demarcation line." However, in colloquial usage, the dividing line is more often called the Sampalseon (삼팔선, "38th parallel"), a name likely coined at the end of World War II, when it would have been an accurate description of the North-South border.
The line itself is marked off by a series of 1,292 identical signs which are placed at intervals across the peninsula. The north facing side of the signs are written in Chosongul and Chinese, and in Hangul and English on the south facing side. The signs are aging and rusting.
[edit] Demarcation on the ocean
A: United Nations-created Northern Limit Line, 1953[5]
B: North Korea-declared Military Demarcation Line, 1999[6] The locations of specific islands are
reflected in the configuration of each
maritime boundary, including
1–Yeonpyeong Island
2–Baengnyeong Island
3–Daecheong Island
| Other map features |
|---|
| Other map features: 4-Jung-gu (Incheon Intl. Airport), 5-Seoul, 6-Incheon, 7-Haeju, 8-Kaesong, 9-Ganghwa County, 10-Bukdo Myeon, 11-Deokjeokdo, 12-Jawol Myeon, 13-Yeongheung Myeon |
The configuration of the longstanding Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea has remained stable since 1953.[4]
In 1999, North Korea asserted a unique MDL in the Yellow Sea.[7] This boundary acknowledges that five small islands close to the North Korean coastline remain under the jurisdiction of the United Nations, as they have done since 1953.[8] The map at the right shows that the ambits of the NLL and North Korea's maritime MDL create overlapping territorial claims.[9]
[edit] Incidents of increased tension
The two Koreas have a shared history of violent clashes in these waters include what are known as the first Yeonpyeong incident, the second Yeonpyeong incident, the Daecheong incident, the Baengnyeong incident (ROKS Cheonan sinking), and the Shelling of Yeonpyeong.
In part, each of these incidents was about territorial sovereignty, which is a legacy of history. In part, each was about relevant jurisdictional rights and interests in maritime boundaries, which are set in a context of differing interpretations of the law of the sea.[10]
In addition, the unresolved legacy of the Korean War causes each successive dispute to reveal unique, region-specific facets in this long-standing conflict.[11]
[edit] Gallery
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[edit] See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- List of border incidents involving North Korea
- Military of North Korea
- Military of South Korea
- Division of Korea
- Korea
- Geography of North Korea
- Geography of South Korea
- United Nations Command (Korea)
- Panmunjom
- Camp Bonifas
[edit] Notes
- ^ Kim, Kwang-Tae. "After Exchange of Fire, N. Korea Threatens More Strikes on South," Time (US). November 23, 2010.
- ^ Pak, Hŭi-gwŏn. (2000). The Law of the Sea and Northeast Asia: a Challenge for Cooperation, p. 108 at Google Books; excerpt, "Under the 1953 Armistice Agreement, the Military Demarcation Line was drawn across the Korean peninsula. Since no maritime demarcation line was specified in the Armistice Agreement, however, the United Nations Command drew the NLL...."
- ^ "Korean War History". http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/dmz/dmz.cfm?Subject=History2. Retrieved 2006-01-12.
- ^ a b Ryoo, Moo Bong. (2009). "The Korean Armistice and the Islands," p. 13 (at PDF-p. 21). Strategy research project at the U.S. Army War College; retrieved 26 Nov 2010.
- ^ "Factbox: What is the Korean Northern Limit Line?" Reuters (UK). November 23, 2010; retrieved 26 Nov 2010.
- ^ "NLL—Controversial Sea Border Between S.Korea, DPRK, " People's Daily (PRC), 2002-11-21; retrieved 2010-11-26.
- ^ Lee, Hy-Sang Lee. (2001). North Korea: a Strange Socialist Fortress, p. 191 at Google Books; excerpt, "North Korea continued to raise the maritime border question, aiming specifically at the United States. ... [In 1999], Pyongyang called six rounds of US-DPRK meetings at Panmunjom to press for a new military demarcation line on the West Sea."
- ^ Ryoo, OMB Form No. 0704-0188 (at PDF-p. 3).
- ^ Ryoo, pp. 13-15 ( at PDF-pp. 21-23).
- ^ Ji Guoxing. (1995). "Maritime Jurisdiction in the Three China Seas," p. 3, UC Berkeley: UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation; retrieved 15 Nov 2010.
- ^ Zou, Keyuan Zou. (2005). Law of the Sea in East Asia: Issues and Prospects, p. 7 at Google Books; excerpt, "In response to the unilateral NLL, the North Korean authorities declared after the 1999 incident (on 2 September 1999), that they had set up a “North Korean Military Demarcation Line in the West Sea (Yellow Sea)” which overlaps with the existing NLL. The different lines existing in the same area definitely have caused, and will continue to cause military conflicts unless a clear boundary line is negotiated between the two sides"; Williams, David and Peter Simpson. "Korea on the brink: South warns of retaliation after North's shellfire strike kills two marines," Daily Mail (UK). November 24, 2010; retrieved 26 Nov 2010.
[edit] References
- Lee, Hy-Sang Lee. (2001). North Korea: a Strange Socialist Fortress. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. 10-ISBN 0275969177/13-ISBN 9780275969172; OCLC 237388400
- Pak, Hŭi-gwŏn. (2000). The Law of the Sea and Northeast Asia: a Challenge for Cooperation. Boston: Kluwer Law International. 10-ISBN 9041114076/13-ISBN 9789041114075; OCLC 154667938
- Zou, Keyuan Zou. (2005). Law of the Sea in East Asia: Issues and Prospects. London: Routledge. 10-ISBN 0415350743/13-ISBN 9780415350747; OCLC 55960798
