Recent reports have suggested that North Korea may be constructing walls and roads within the military buffer zone that separates the two Korean states. According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, construction work of this kind by the North Korean military was observed on the northern side of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in recent days. The purpose of this construction is not yet clear, but it could indicate that North Korea is planning a long wall or simply wants to erect protective structures in certain places.
The Defense Ministry in Seoul has not yet confirmed these reports, and there has been no information from largely isolated North Korea itself. However, the DMZ still forms the de facto border between the two countries, which have been at war under international law since the Korean War of 1950 to 1953. The buffer zone, around 240 kilometers long and four kilometers wide, was set up across the Korean peninsula at the end of the war. The inner-Korean border is heavily fortified, with South Korean border guards recently firing warning shots at it after several North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the military demarcation line. These tensions have been increasing significantly for months.
