Category: DMZ

Korean Government Agrees To Tear Down Sections of DMZ Fence Because Its Ugly

This reminds me of people complaining about aircraft noise after they build a home near an airport:

South Korean officials say they will replace portions of a 16.4-mile stretch of barbed wire along the northeast coast with electronic surveillance equipment after residents complained the fence is ugly.

The barbed wire was meant to protect the coast against sea infiltration by countries such as North Korea, a Ministry of National Defense spokesman said Tuesday on customary condition of anonymity.

The fence will be removed in 41 areas in Gangwon province, which borders North Korea, in the first half of 2015, according to the ministry. North Korean subs were discovered along that stretch of coastline in the 1990s near the cities of Sokcho and Donghae.

The MND spokesman said officials are not concerned about reduced security because the unmanned surveillance equipment has already been tested. He would not comment on whether removing the fence would affect South Korean troop levels along the eastern coast.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.

Forest Fire In North Korea Spreads South Across the DMZ

I wonder if the North Koreans intentionally set this fire or not?

The Dora Observatory in Paju, north of Seoul, is enveloped in smoke after fire broke out in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in North Korea and spread to the South Korean side, Monday. No injuries or damage were reported. / Yonhap

A fire broke out on North Korea’s side of the heavily guarded demilitarized zone (DMZ) on Monday afternoon, South Korean authorities said.

The fire spread through the barbed-wire fence separating the two Koreas at 1:15 p.m., reaching the Dora Observatory in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province.

“The fire started in North Korean territory and spread south,” an official said.

The northern region of Gyeonggi Province recently issued a drought warning.

Seven fire engines and about 50 firemen fought the blaze.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Twas the Night Before Christmas on the DMZ

Back due to popular demand is Chickenhead’s hilarious carol “Christmas on the DMZ”:

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the DMZ,

the darkness was stirred by a lone Christmas tree.

Love gifts were hung from the balloons with care,

in hopes they’d pass north through the cold winter air.

The soldiers were nestled all snug in their bunks,

while visions of peaceful reunification gave them goose bumps.

With a ho in her hooker boots, and I in the buff,

I had just bent her over to treat her ass good and rough.

When out on the lawn arose loud banging and clicking,

I sprang from my bed to see whose ass needed kicking.

Away to the window I flew all in fear,

knocked over my soju and two bottles of beer.

The moon on the snow and the flares in the sky,

gave the luster of mid-day so I could not deny.

When, what to my wondering eyes should I see,

but a horde of Nork soldiers, tanks and artillery.

With pictures of Dear Leader and muzzle flashes aglow,

I wished for more combat training instead of briefings from EO.

They yelled threats and commands, I knew I was funked.

My Tagalog was great but my Korean skills sucked.

“Now, Kim! Now, Lee! Now, Park and Gong!

On, Choi! On Kwak! On, Nam and Song!

To the top of the hill! To the top of the wall!

Now kill the white devils, kill them all!”

And they hit the main gate the first time they tried,

where napping KATUSAs with empty guns died.

They attacked the wall of the BX and opened a chasm,

and looted the place, a black market orgasm.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard down the hall,

shooting and stabbing and harsh Han Gook Mal.

As I searched for a weapon and looked all around,

an evil Nork soldier came in with a bound.

He was dressed all in rags, from his head to his foot,

and his sockless toes could be seen through his boot.

A smoking AK he had flung on his back,

and I picked up my XBox to give him a whack.

His eyes – how they twinkled! Narrow and scarry!

But he looked like a teen who still had his cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up in rage,

and though I hadn’t saved my game, I had to engage.

A rusty old knife, he held in his teeth,

as with hunger abound, he’d likely eaten the sheath.

He had a big square head and lacked any belly,

while I only passed my tape test on a diet of petroleum jelly.

I put down my XBox and said, “Here’s the deal.”

“If you don’t kill me, I’ll cook you a meal.”

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his plate,

and gobbled Hamburger Helper like a trailer park date.

To get him to leave, I thought of more ploys,

“Why don’t you take my hot juicy back to your boys?”

He sprang out the door with my juicy in tow,

and the last that I saw, they’d formed a line in the snow.

I hid under my bed with my XBox on,

And played Medal of Honor ’till the airstrike got here from Guam.

Defense Ministry Approves Plan to Reconstruct the DMZ Christmas Tree

Two months ago the infamous DMZ Christmas tree was pulled down and now for whatever reason the Defense Ministry has decided to allow a Christian group to construct a new one:

A North Korean religious association slammed a South Korean Christian group’s plan to light a big Christmas tree in the Aegibong Peak Observatory in Gimpo, south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

It said Friday that the lighting is, “an act of madness and it is unacceptable.”

“The Christian Council of Korea (CCK) attempts to use religion as a means to spur confrontation between the people of the two sides. It should realize that the malicious plan could lead to a military action from the North,” the North’s association said.

The reaction came weeks after the CCK unveiled a plan to set up a big Christmas tree in the observatory and light it on Dec. 23. The tree will be dressed in Christmas lights for two weeks until Jan. 6, the group said.

The Ministry of National Defense approved the plan.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but the tree is used by the ROK military as a psychological warfare weapon.  The North Koreans can look across the border and see the lights of South Korea to include this Christmas tree which stands in stark contrast to the regular power outages they face in North Korea.

Korean DMZ Christmas Tree Pulled Down

I wonder if this was a quid pro quo to get North Korea to return to talks or even release Jeffrey Fowle?:

A giant steel Christmas tree near the border with North Korea that served as a propaganda symbol for the South for 43 years has been pulled down.

It used to stand at Aegibong Peak in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province and twinkle a message of progress, consumerism and born-again Christianity across the border, to the fury of the North Korean regime.

The local government now plans to build a peace park with the budget of W29.6 billion (US$1=W1,052) there.

Military authorities pulled it down on Oct. 15-16 citing safety reasons. The structure “was rated very dangerous in a safety inspection of military facilities and structures in November last year,” a Defense Ministry spokesman said. [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but few people seem fooled by the safety reasons cited when it has been there for 43 years.

North Korea Blames South for Exchange of Fire on the DMZ

Unsurprisingly the North Koreans are blaming the ROK for the latest border clash despite their soldier intentionally violating the MDL:

DMZ image

North Korea has threatened to retaliate against South Korea if the South continues to make a military response against its patrol activities around the heavily armed inter-Korean border, the defense minister said Monday.

In a telephone message, the North denounced the South firing shots against its soldiers after warning broadcasts, claiming its activity around the military demarcation line (MDL) was just patrols, the ministry said.

The North also said it will continue to patrol around the MDL in the future.

The North’s response came after its second straight provocation around the border between Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, about 10 North Korean soldiers who were approaching the MDL near Cheolwon, a central border city of the South, returned to their side after warning shots were fired by the South’s soldiers. On Sunday, other North Korean soldiers advanced toward the MDL near Paju, a city located about 40 kilometers northwest of Seoul to cause warning shots from South Korean soldiers. The North’s soldiers exchanged fire with the South’s soldiers before going back.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but this is just another example of how the North Koreans continuously try and keep tensions high to pressure the South Koreans to make concessions as well as to make international headlines to show the world they are still a threat.  The latest concessions they want is for the ROK to stop the balloon launches and modify the NLL.

Shots Fired On the DMZ After North Korean Soldiers Cross the MDL

I guess this how you exchange pleasantries on the DMZ:

DMZ image

South and North Korea exchanged fire across the heavily fortified border on Sunday, but there was no report of South Korean casualties.

The incident took around 5:40 p.m. when South Korea fired warning shots against North Korean soldiers who were approaching the military demarcation line in Paju after broadcasting warning messages.

North Korea apparently fired back against South Korea, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, noting two marks from North Korean guns were found in a South Korean guard post.

South Korea also returned fired against North Korea, according to the JCS. [Yonhap]