Former South Korean Guard Describes Life Along The DMZ

South Korean soldiers patrol along a barbed-wire fence, near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) which separates the two Koreas in Paju, north of Seoul April 5, 2013. South Korea fired tens of artillery rounds towards North Korea on Thursday after the North fired a projectile towards a South Korean loudspeaker that had been blaring anti-Pyongyang broadcasts, the defense ministry in Seoul said. KIM HONG-JI/REUTERS

The Guardian: On patrol in the DMZ: North Korean landmines, biting winds and tin cans

As tensions on the peninsula escalate, a former South Korean guard describes life at one of the world’s most fortified borders. NK News reports

Of the 130,000 South Korean soldiers conscripted every year, only a handful will ever get to see their sworn enemies in the flesh. They are the ones stationed at the “demilitarised zone” that separates the two Koreas.

The area, commonly known as the DMZ, is one of the most fortified borders in the world – separating two counties that have technically been at war since 1953. It also a serves as a tourist attraction, visited by thousands of people a year.

Tensions along the border have been raised since two South Korean officers were gravely injured by a landmine last August. Seoul immediately blamed Pyongyang, who rejected the allegations but declared the country on a war footing.

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WNU Editor: I visited the DMZ about 25 years ago (or at least as close as I could come to the border). One word describes what it felt like .... "tense". I suspect that if I was to go there today .... nothing would have changed.

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