South Korea Plans to Ease Military Buffer Zone Boundaries Along Inter-Korean Border

SEOUL, June 17 (Yonhap) -- The defense ministry on Wednesday rolled out a plan to ease the boundaries of the military-controlled buffer zone along the inter-Korean border to allow wider civilian access and spur regional growth.

The Civilian Control Line (CCL), a buffer zone that lies within 10 kilometers south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that runs through the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, will be reduced to an average of 6 km in distance, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said in a briefing.

"The CCL was established to restrict civilian access and guarantee military operations, but there have been growing calls for a need to complement its actual control measures," Ahn said.

"We have come up with an adjustment plan for the CCL to adapt to future security environments amid shrinking military manpower, while ensuring operational conditions," he said.

The CCL was established in the wake of the 1950-53 Korean War to restrict public access and protect military installations along the heavily fortified inter-Korean border. It currently extends up to 7 km south of the MDL along the western front and up to 10 km south along the eastern front.

However, it has also acted as a barrier for local residents seeking to develop their land, causing inconveniences in their daily lives.

The Lee Jae Myung government has been working to readjust the CCL boundaries by moving the lines further north, to ease property development restrictions and improve the quality of life for local residents.

Under the plan, the CCL, currently categorized as a Controlled Protection Zone, will be redesignated as a Restricted Protection Zone, a move that will allow land development and construction upon approval by relevant authorities, the ministry said.

The measure will apply to roughly 270 square km, equivalent to 90 times the size of Yeouido in western Seoul, the ministry said.

Aside from the CCL, the ministry also plans to lift restrictions on approximately 450 square km of the Restricted Protection Zone to allow private property development.

The envisioned measures will be finalized and put into practice in phases, after a series of reviews by the defense ministry, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and local governments.

The ministry will also remove military structures that are considered to have lost tactical utility, such as anti-tank walls or structures, from 23 locations in the border regions, including Paju, north of Seoul, and Yanggu in Gangwon Province.

To provide a simplified approval procedure for civilian access to the CCL, the government plans to introduce mobile applications and authentication in 2027.

The government will also ease the approval process for agricultural drones used at farms in the border regions, the ministry said.