![The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) seen from a border area in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. [Photo=Yonhap]](https://image.ajunews.com/content/image/2026/01/28/20260128174730139212.jpg)
The U.N. Command said a ruling party-backed bill on the “peaceful use” of the Demilitarized Zone conflicts with the Korean War armistice.
A U.N. Command official told reporters on Tuesday afternoon at the Dragon Hill Lodge Hotel on the Yongsan base that if the DMZ bill passes, it would “directly violate” the armistice and would be tantamount to the South Korean government declaring it is not subject to the agreement. The official said jurisdiction over the DMZ south of the Military Demarcation Line rests entirely with the U.N. Command.
The bill would allow the South Korean government to exercise authority over access to the DMZ for nonmilitary, peaceful purposes. The Ministry of Unification has backed the legislation, linking it to “territorial sovereignty.”
The U.N. Command reiterated its long-held position that the U.N. commander is responsible not only for military matters in the DMZ but also for civil administration and relief projects.
The command also argued that the armistice preamble’s statement that the provisions are “purely military in character” is meant to underscore that the armistice is not a peace treaty.
Unification Minister Jeong Dong Young, responding to questions at the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said, “What the U.N. Command said is the U.N. Command’s position, and the National Assembly’s enactment of a law is the legislature’s exclusive legislative authority.”
Separately, the U.N. Command explained why it once denied a DMZ entry request by Kim Hyun Jong, first deputy director of the National Security Office. Kim later received approval and visited the DMZ.
The U.N. Command official said it received Kim’s application in late November, around the time a South Korean officer was injured in an explosion inside the DMZ. The official said the command had reports that new unexploded ordnance, mines and various shells were being found daily at Baekma Hill, and it suggested Kim visit another location for safety reasons.
A U.N. Command official told reporters on Tuesday afternoon at the Dragon Hill Lodge Hotel on the Yongsan base that if the DMZ bill passes, it would “directly violate” the armistice and would be tantamount to the South Korean government declaring it is not subject to the agreement. The official said jurisdiction over the DMZ south of the Military Demarcation Line rests entirely with the U.N. Command.
The bill would allow the South Korean government to exercise authority over access to the DMZ for nonmilitary, peaceful purposes. The Ministry of Unification has backed the legislation, linking it to “territorial sovereignty.”
The U.N. Command reiterated its long-held position that the U.N. commander is responsible not only for military matters in the DMZ but also for civil administration and relief projects.
The command also argued that the armistice preamble’s statement that the provisions are “purely military in character” is meant to underscore that the armistice is not a peace treaty.
Unification Minister Jeong Dong Young, responding to questions at the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said, “What the U.N. Command said is the U.N. Command’s position, and the National Assembly’s enactment of a law is the legislature’s exclusive legislative authority.”
Separately, the U.N. Command explained why it once denied a DMZ entry request by Kim Hyun Jong, first deputy director of the National Security Office. Kim later received approval and visited the DMZ.
The U.N. Command official said it received Kim’s application in late November, around the time a South Korean officer was injured in an explosion inside the DMZ. The official said the command had reports that new unexploded ordnance, mines and various shells were being found daily at Baekma Hill, and it suggested Kim visit another location for safety reasons.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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