See inside the Demilitarized Zone, the heavily guarded border between North Korea and South Korea

Talia LakritzMay 29, 2024, 07:26 IST

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un walks with ccJae-in to the official summit Peace House building for a meeting in the Demilitarized Zone.KOREA SUMMIT PRESS POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The Demilitarized Zone established after the Korean War separates North Korea and South Korea.
North Korean and South Korean soldiers, as well as United Nations Command forces, guard the site.

In 1953, an armistice agreement established a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border of North Korea and South Korea. While the agreement brought an end to the battles of the Korean War, the conflict is still ongoing.

Tensions remain high between the two countries. On multiple occasions earlier this year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tested new rockets capable of hitting Seoul in South Korea. In December, Kim said his army should "thoroughly annihilate" South Korea and the United States, if provoked, the Associated Press reported.

Take a look inside the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea.

The Korean Armistice Agreement of 1953 divided North and South Korea along the 38th parallel and established a Demilitarized Zone at the border.

Kim Il Sung signs the Korean Armistice Agreement.Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone is managed by North Korea and the United Nations Command.

South Korean soldiers stand guard in the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone.ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images

Despite being one of the most heavily guarded borders in the world, it is also a popular tourist attraction.

A tour bus is seen at the Imjingak Pavilion near the Demilitarized Zone.Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

In the Joint Security Area, also known as Panmunjom or Truce Village, a monument memorializes the casualties that led up to the 1953 armistice agreement.

A monument at a South Korean checkpoint in the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone.Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The room where the agreement was signed is also open to view.

A soldier stands in the Joint Security Area in one of the blue barracks behind the table where the armistice agreement was signed.Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Images

North Korean soldiers watch closely from outside.

A North Korean soldier looks inside as he stands guard in the DMZ.KIM HONG-JI/AFP via Getty Images

Soldiers on South Korea's side of the DMZ stare into North Korea.

US soldiers stand in the Joint Security Area of the DMZ.Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Images

North Korea stares right back.

A North Korean looks at the South Korean side of Panmunjom inside the DMZ.Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

The Military Demarcation Line is indicated by a block of concrete.

The Military Demarcation Line in the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea.Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Nearby, at the Goseong Unification Observatory Tower, visitors can use binoculars to look into North Korea.

A pair of binoculars near the DMZ.Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

North Korea has built what South Korean forces call a "propaganda village" near the border.

North Korea's propaganda village of Gijungdong is seen from a South Korean observation post inside the Demilitarized Zone.Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

North Korea also flies its flag on a 525-foot flagpole across from the Demilitarized Zone — a symbol of the still-simmering tensions between the two countries.

A North Korean flag in North Korea's propaganda village of Gijungdong.Jeon Heon-Kyun - Pool/Getty Images

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