UN Command: NK Border Fencing, Landmines Not Armistice Violations

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's recent fencing and landmine operations along the inter-Korean border do not constitute violations of the Armistice Agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War, the United Nations Command (UNC) said Wednesday, countering South Korea's claim that the North is breaching the agreement.

The U.S.-led UNC, which oversees and enforces the Armistice Agreement, made the case in a fact sheet on the North's activities, saying they are "explicitly exempt" from being considered armistice violations as the installations are confined north of the border and do not involve heavy weapons.

"The United Nations Command maintains that recent North Korean construction activities, including fencing and road repairs, do not constitute violations of the 1953 Armistice Agreement, provided they remain north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and do not introduce heavy weaponry," the UNC said in the fact sheet uploaded to its website.

"The UNC operates strictly on an apolitical, military-to-military basis to preserve stability and communication on the Peninsula," it said.

Seoul criticized Pyongyang earlier this week after news reports said the North had installed barbed-wire fences less than 100 meters from the MDL and was clearing land to lay landmines as close as 5 to 10 meters away.

"Fencing, road construction and clear-cutting fall strictly under the 'Civil Administration' portion of DMZ rules," the UNC said, referring to the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas.

The DMZ is a 4-kilometer-wide buffer zone that extends 2 km on either side of the MDL, where the deployment of troops and heavy weapons is restricted.

The UNC said the North's construction of fences and roads, as well as emplacing mines is permitted within the northern side of the MDL, as they serve a defensive and separation purpose.

"Because these activities are classified under civil administration rather than military fortification, they are explicitly exempt from being categorized as armistice violations," it said.

Based on its monitoring of the North's construction, the UNC confirmed no heavy weapons and found no evidence of drone capabilities being brought into the DMZ.

The UNC said South Korea's current operations on clearing roads, fences and vegetation south of the border also do not constitute armistice violations.

"The UNC applies the same standard to both sides," it noted.

In the fact sheet, the UNC stated it has utilized established communication mechanisms with the North's military to prevent miscalculation during recent border fortification operations.

"The UNC takes all allegations of MDL crossings seriously and investigates them in coordination with ROK Ground Operations Command," it said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

After the North's leader Kim Jong-un declared inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other" in late 2023, the North has been fortifying the border since April 2024 by reinforcing barbed wire fences, planting mines and erecting anti-tank barriers along the MDL.