Military Demarcation Line

The Military Demarcation Line within the Demilitarized Zone

The Northern Limit Line shown in red separating North and South Korea in the Yellow Sea.

The Military Demarcation Line, sometimes referred to as the Armistice Line, is the border between North Korea and South Korea. It was established as the ceasefire line at the end of Korean War hostilities in 1953. The Military Demarcation Line runs over land; at sea, the two Koreas are divided by the Northern Limit Line.

This line is inside the DMZ, and runs near the 38th parallel, covering roughly 248 kilometers.^[1] 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.

Notes

1. ^ "Korean War History". http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/dmz/dmz.cfm?Subject=History2. Retrieved 2006-01-12. 

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• Military of North Korea
• Military of South Korea
• Division of Korea
• demarcation line
• Korean Demilitarized Zone
• Korea
• Geography of North Korea
• Geography of South Korea
• United Nations Command (Korea)
• Panmunjeom
• Camp Bonifas