USFK commander says DMZ should not become 'politicized,' amid bill to ease access

The commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Friday that the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) should not be "politicized," voicing opposition to a bill in South Korea that seeks to grant the government control of non-military access to the buffer zone. The remarks by USFK Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson, who also doubles as commander of the U.N. Command (UNC), followed a recent UNC statement in opposition to the pending bill. He said the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War should remain the barometer governing behavior. Under the armistice, the UNC currently has the authority to approve or deny access to the DMZ. "What we want to try to make sure that we do is, number one, we don't allow that area to become politicized ... we signed an agreement to say that we will maintain this buffer here," Brunson said in an episode of security-focused podcast series "War on the Rocks." Brunson noted that South Korea recently proposed military talks with North Korea to discuss how to clarify the Military Demarcation Line in the DMZ in a bid to prevent possible clashes near the inter-Kore