Key gov't-led DMZ projects remain stalled as UNC denies clearance over safety risks

Several government-led environmental and historical initiatives inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) have been stalled for over two years as the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) continues to withhold clearance, citing safety risks, Seoul officials said Tuesday.

South Korea launched a series of DMZ initiatives in 2020, ranging from ecological and forestry studies to the recovery of lost villages and exploring potential UNESCO World Heritage candidate sites, to implement a 2018 inter-Korean summit agreement to transform the tense border area into a peace zone.

The projects had proceeded throughout the years, except for the winter seasons, and continued even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the projects were suspended in May 2024 after the UNC, which holds authority over DMZ entry control under the Armistice Agreement — a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War — refused to give clearance, citing changes to the security situation along the heavily fortified border.

Tensions had flared up between the two Koreas at the time, triggered by South Korea-based civic groups' sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border into the North, with Pyongyang flying trash-carrying balloons in response.

Since the liberal administration of President Lee Jae Myung took office in June last year, South Korea has sought to resume the DMZ projects as recently as in May, but the UNC has still denied access, on grounds that the 2018 military tension-reduction pact between Seoul and Pyongyang has been invalidated, Seoul officials said.

Civilian DMZ tour programs across three border regions also remain blocked since May 2024 due to a lack of UNC entry approval, they said.

Seoul officials said the UNC has also claimed jurisdiction over part of a history museum near the Inter-Korean Transit Office in Paju, north of Seoul, citing its recent border remeasurements that show a larger portion of the facility lies north of the Southern Limit Line, the southern boundary of the DMZ.

In response to a query by Yonhap News Agency regarding the projects, the UNC underscored potential risk factors that need to be carefully taken into account for DMZ access.

"The potential value of a proposed research activity must be weighed against the risks to personnel who would enter the DMZ," it said in a statement. "UNC reviews each request for access under established procedures and the Korean Armistice Agreement, in close coordination with the ROK government."

ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

Regarding the history museum site, the UNC said it has proposed designating the facility as a site under the DMZ Education and Orientation Program, a UNC-led program run in coordination with Seoul.

"Because some doors open into the DMZ, appropriate safety measures and access procedures, including coordination with the ROK military, must be in place before visitors can be accommodated," it said.