Unification minister makes UNC-escorted visit to DMZ area

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, right, visits the truce village of Panmunjom near the inter-Korean border, July 25, 2025. Courtesy of Ministry of Unification

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on Wednesday visited peace trail routes and other areas near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, the U.N. Command (UNC) said.

"The minister's visit was conducted at a designated Demilitarized Zone Education and Orientation Program site," the U.S.-led UNC said, noting 15 sites have been designated for such a purpose to uphold the safety and stability of the area.

"The minister also walked the established ROK Peace Trail routes south of the DMZ's Southern Boundary Line," it said, referring to the trail routes stretching from Ganghwa to Goseong, Gangwon Province, near the inter-Korean border. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

The UNC is an enforcer of the armistice that stopped the fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War and oversees activities inside the DMZ — a buffer zone between the two Koreas since the three-year conflict ended without a peace treaty.