[News Terms] Countdown to Restoration After 5 Years... Demilitarized Zone 'GP'

Since North Korea declared the termination of the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement, it has begun restoring frontline Guard Posts (GPs) within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Meanwhile, South Korean military authorities have confirmed that they are also planning to restore the '829 GP' located in Goseong, Gangwon Province, among the 11 frontline GPs that were withdrawn. This move is interpreted as a countermeasure by South Korea in response to North Korea's successive military actions, such as the North Korean guards in the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjom wearing pistols.

The Korean Peninsula's Demilitarized Zone was established following the armistice agreement signed immediately after the end of the Korean War in 1953. A total of 1,292 stakes were driven in from the Imjin River to the East Coast, and a virtual line connecting them, approximately 240 km long, was designated as the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). From this line, a 2 km zone was set on both the North and South sides. The northern boundary of the DMZ is called the Northern Limit Line (NLL), and the southern boundary is called the Southern Limit Line (SLL).

GP stands for 'Guard Post,' referring to frontline observation posts located inside the DMZ on both the South and North sides. These are reinforced concrete barrier buildings constructed much thicker than typical observation posts, essentially functioning as fortresses. According to the armistice agreement, armed troops are not officially allowed to be stationed in the DMZ, but both South Korea and North Korea have established GPs and stationed armed personnel under the name of civil administrative police.

GOP stands for 'General Out Post,' referring to general frontline posts guarding the Southern Limit Line. Simply put, GOPs are responsible for the Southern Limit Line, while GPs are located inside the DMZ beyond the Southern Limit Line where the GOPs are situated. Additionally, GOP security is handled by regular infantry battalions, whereas GP security is rotated by elite reconnaissance companies within brigades.

According to the September 19 Military Agreement signed in 2018, both Koreas completely destroyed 10 out of 11 GPs they operated in the DMZ, withdrawing personnel and equipment from one GP each while preserving their original structures. As a result, the number of GPs inside the DMZ decreased from about 160 to 150 on the North side and from about 60 to 50 on the South side.

On February 13, 2019, the Ministry of National Defense publicly revealed for the first time the Gangwon-do Goseong GP, a frontline observation post (GP) in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) being withdrawn as a pilot under the 'September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement,' which was decided to be preserved in its original form considering its historical value. /Photo by Joint Press Corps

However, after North Korea launched a military reconnaissance satellite on the 21st, the South Korean government declared on the 22nd the nullification of the 'No-Fly Zone Establishment (Article 1, Paragraph 3)' clause of the September 19 Military Agreement, which limited South Korea's frontline surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, as a countermeasure. North Korea responded the next day by stating it would no longer be bound by the September 19 Military Agreement and would immediately restore all military measures that had been suspended on land, sea, and air.

In response, the South Korean government appears to be planning to restore the 829 GP in Goseong, Gangwon Province, among the frontline GPs. Although personnel and equipment were withdrawn from this GP in 2018, its original structure has been maintained. This GP was the first to be established in the South Korean area within the DMZ after the armistice agreement and was registered as a cultural heritage site (Unification Historical Artifact) in 2019, considering its historical significance.