DMZ jurisdiction dispute

Recent bills from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) proposing that the South Korean government have more leeway to approve non-military access and use of the southern parts of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, and Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's support for the legislation, have created a war of nerves. The DMZ is a buffer zone, created when North and South Korea ended the 1950-53 conflict with an armistice, and administered by the United Nations Command (UNC). The UNC administers the zone to keep the two Koreas apart and prevent clashes. There has been criticism of the UNC's strict management of South Korea's access to the DMZ in past administrations. During the 2017-22 Moon Jae-in administration, requests for access to survey sites for government-led inter-Korean railway and civilian access were denied in 2018. Calls grew for the UNC to be more accommodating to South Korean peace-related access. One of the proposed DPK bills suggests that the UNC maintain overall control but allow the Ministry of Unification to administer approval for civilian ac