▲ This Jan. 11, 2026, file photo, taken from the border city of Paju, shows the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas. (Yonhap)

UN Command-DMZ

UNC says pending bills to ease DMZ access 'completely at odds' with armistice

By Lee Minji

SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- The United Nations Command (UNC) on Wednesday voiced strong opposition against bills seeking to grant the South Korean government control of non-military access to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), saying they are "completely at odds" with the armistice agreement.

The remarks by UNC officials came as ruling party lawmakers have proposed bills aiming to give the government the authority to regulate non-military access to the DMZ, as part of efforts to promote the peaceful use of the military buffer zone separating the two Koreas.

The UNC has objected to the legislative move, urging the need to adhere to the armistice in administering the 250-kilometer-long, 4-km-wide area between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

"From a technical reading of the armistice agreement and reading of the bills that are pending, they are completely at odds," an UNC official told reporters.

"The purpose of the DMZ is to provide a buffer zone that is governed or administered by the military commanders to ensure that nothing happens within that 4-km stretch that could cause an end to the armistice and a resumption of hostilities," the official said.

Against this backdrop, the official said despite the preamble of the armistice indicating terms are intended to be "purely military in character," civil administration also falls within the responsibilities of the UNC commander, who is tasked with ensuring that "everything that happens within the southern half of the DMZ is in compliance with the armistice."

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