Koreas to shut down some border guard posts
North and South Korea have agreed to close some guard posts along their border on a trial basis, Seoul’s defence minister told parliament on 21 August amid a rapid diplomatic thaw.
The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that has divided the peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953 is, despite its name, one of the most fortified places on earth, with the areas on either side of it bristling with minefields and barbed-wire fences.
Song Young-moo said the South would withdraw around 10 guard posts as part of confidence-building measures following the landmark summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South’s President Moon Jae-in in April.
Song told lawmakers: ‘What it means is that we will first withdraw one or two guard posts and gradually expand it.’
He added that the North would take reciprocal measures.
Song said: ‘The North and South agreed to withdraw guard posts that are closest to each other. The closest is about 700 metres away and we will begin withdrawing guard posts that are within one kilometre.’
A defence ministry official told AFP the issue was still being discussed and declined to clarify whether the posts would be physically removed.
The 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war. The DMZ, designated as a buffer zone, bisects the Korean peninsula and is about 4kms wide.
It includes a Joint Security Area around the truce village of Panmunjom, where negotiations take place.
More from Defence Notes
-
![Eurosatory 2026: New public security needs drive personal protection equipment modernisation]()
Eurosatory 2026: New public security needs drive personal protection equipment modernisation
European law enforcement and public security agencies are entering a new cycle of investment in personal protection equipment (PPE), driven by evolving threat profiles, officer welfare requirements and advances in materials technology.
-
![Eurosatory 2026: Milrem Robotics puts forward multi-layered defence concept for NATO’s eastern flank]()
Eurosatory 2026: Milrem Robotics puts forward multi-layered defence concept for NATO’s eastern flank
Autonomous systems developer Milrem has evolved a model for an interoperable robotised approach to the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative (EFDI), showing how uncrewed systems could provide a multi-layered defence architecture in the air and on land along NATO’s eastern borders.
-
![Eurosatory 2026 to highlight changing defence and security priorities]()
Eurosatory 2026 to highlight changing defence and security priorities
Eurosatory 2026 will reflect a defence and security sector shaped by conflict, rising government spending, uncrewed systems, multidomain networks and growing demand for sovereign capabilities.
-
![Delays, departures and drama cloud UK defence programmes ahead of absent DIP]()
Delays, departures and drama cloud UK defence programmes ahead of absent DIP
The UK defence secretary’s departure suggests that the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan is unlikely to meet the funding demands of the armed forces, with consequences for procurement and the UK’s standing at a NATO summit weeks away.
