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

The Korea Times - Oct 20, 2026

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-

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