Train to Pyeongyang
The DMZ runs the width of the Korean Peninsula; it's 248 km long and 4km wide. Only 48 kilometres northwest of Seoul, in the middle of the DMZ, is Panmunjeom, where the 1953 armistice was signed. One kilometre east of the village is the Joint Security Area (JSA) through which the Military Demarcation Line (MDL; the half-way line down the centre of the DMZ) runs. Negotiations continue to take place in the JSA between the UN and the North Koreans in th
e blue Armistice Commission building, which spans the MDL. The soldiers standing on guard are UN troops (these are mostly Republic of Korea (ROK) soldiers and about 30 American soldiers); a North Korean soldier can be made out on the top of the steps of the building in the background.
Until 1976, North Korean and UN soldiers moved around all parts of the JSA. On 18 August, 1976, however, this changed. A poplar tree was blocking the view from UN guardpost #5 to guardpost #3. A South Korean workforce was sent to trim the tree but was threatened by North Korean soldiers. They returned, escorted, but were met by 30 North Korean soldiers. When the commanding escorting officer, US Captain Bonifas, ordered the work detail to trim the tree despite the North Korean threats, the North Korean soldiers attacked and killed, using the axes brought by the work detail, Captain Bonifas and another US soldier, Lieutenant Barrett. On the morning of 21 August, a massive tree trimming operation, Operation Paul Bunyan, was launched by ROK and US troops. The poplar tree at the centre of the conflict was removed; the work detail was this time supported by an armed platoon, 27 helicopters, and several B-52 bombers flying along the DMZ. Several days later, both sides agreed to partition the JSA along the MDL.
Our guide in the JSA, a US Specialist, told the story of the Axe Murder Incident and Operation Paul Bunyan in a lighthearted manner. Yet, the continuing tension in the JSA was nonetheless evident during our visit. We were led into the Armistice Commission Building, free to walk across the MDL into the North. Two ROK soldiers, however, stood at attention, with more soldiers outside at the ready. These soldiers, outside, as can be seen in the photograph above, stand partly behind the building, with only half their body exposed to the North, in case an opposing soldier should fire at them.
Inside the building, further evidence of the ensuing tension exists. In one of the photographs above, two ROK soldiers can be seen standing in the background. They are standing in front of the door leading from the Armistice Commission Building to the North. To the left of the soldiers, there is a small white patch on the blue wall where the paint has faded. The building is for the use of both the UN and the North Koreans. Whenever either side uses the building, they enter it and lock the opposing door. When we were inside the building, for example, the North door remained locked, with the ROK soldiers posted at the door. After we left the JSA, however, the door is unlocked (except currently as discussed below). The unlocking of the door to the North, however, is no simple task. One ROK soldier unlocks the door. A second soldier stands around the corner, leans against the wall (causing the fading of the paint), and reaches forward to grip the first soldier's belt. This is to prevent the first soldier being pulled out of the building into the North by North Korean soldiers when he unlocks the door, something which has apparently been attempted before.
While the situation remains tense, the conflict seems to be limited largely to posturing. The North door of the Armistice Commission Building, our US guide informed us, was currently locked, had been so for the last week, and would remain so until the North Koreans agreed to sit down and discuss the use of the building. This was in retaliation for a North Korean action the previous week. The UN commanding officer had been leading a tour of the UN side of the JSA, but when he reached the Armistice Commission Building, he found the door locked and the building occupied by North Korean soldiers. While the North Koreans were allowed to use the building for their own tours, it was not being used at this time for such a purpose. Rather, the North Koreans had simply decided to lock the door and post several soldiers in the building for no other reason than to annoy their counterparts across the MDL. The UN commanding officer, in a rage, ordered that the door to the North be locked and remain so as soon as the North Koreans finally vacated the building (not until several days later).
Some in South Korea seem to be nonetheless optimistic about future relations with the North. Not too far from the JSA, construction is going on just south of the DMZ at the site of the main highway and railway line which formerly connected the country's two halves. A large immigration and customs facility is being built on the highway and the Dorasan Railway Station was recently completed. A sign already leads to tracks for the train to Pyeongyang, although the tracks themselves remain unused.
e blue Armistice Commission building, which spans the MDL. The soldiers standing on guard are UN troops (these are mostly Republic of Korea (ROK) soldiers and about 30 American soldiers); a North Korean soldier can be made out on the top of the steps of the building in the background.Until 1976, North Korean and UN soldiers moved around all parts of the JSA. On 18 August, 1976, however, this changed. A poplar tree was blocking the view from UN guardpost #5 to guardpost #3. A South Korean workforce was sent to trim the tree but was threatened by North Korean soldiers. They returned, escorted, but were met by 30 North Korean soldiers. When the commanding escorting officer, US Captain Bonifas, ordered the work detail to trim the tree despite the North Korean threats, the North Korean soldiers attacked and killed, using the axes brought by the work detail, Captain Bonifas and another US soldier, Lieutenant Barrett. On the morning of 21 August, a massive tree trimming operation, Operation Paul Bunyan, was launched by ROK and US troops. The poplar tree at the centre of the conflict was removed; the work detail was this time supported by an armed platoon, 27 helicopters, and several B-52 bombers flying along the DMZ. Several days later, both sides agreed to partition the JSA along the MDL.
Our guide in the JSA, a US Specialist, told the story of the Axe Murder Incident and Operation Paul Bunyan in a lighthearted manner. Yet, the continuing tension in the JSA was nonetheless evident during our visit. We were led into the Armistice Commission Building, free to walk across the MDL into the North. Two ROK soldiers, however, stood at attention, with more soldiers outside at the ready. These soldiers, outside, as can be seen in the photograph above, stand partly behind the building, with only half their body exposed to the North, in case an opposing soldier should fire at them.
Inside the building, further evidence of the ensuing tension exists. In one of the photographs above, two ROK soldiers can be seen standing in the background. They are standing in front of the door leading from the Armistice Commission Building to the North. To the left of the soldiers, there is a small white patch on the blue wall where the paint has faded. The building is for the use of both the UN and the North Koreans. Whenever either side uses the building, they enter it and lock the opposing door. When we were inside the building, for example, the North door remained locked, with the ROK soldiers posted at the door. After we left the JSA, however, the door is unlocked (except currently as discussed below). The unlocking of the door to the North, however, is no simple task. One ROK soldier unlocks the door. A second soldier stands around the corner, leans against the wall (causing the fading of the paint), and reaches forward to grip the first soldier's belt. This is to prevent the first soldier being pulled out of the building into the North by North Korean soldiers when he unlocks the door, something which has apparently been attempted before.
While the situation remains tense, the conflict seems to be limited largely to posturing. The North door of the Armistice Commission Building, our US guide informed us, was currently locked, had been so for the last week, and would remain so until the North Koreans agreed to sit down and discuss the use of the building. This was in retaliation for a North Korean action the previous week. The UN commanding officer had been leading a tour of the UN side of the JSA, but when he reached the Armistice Commission Building, he found the door locked and the building occupied by North Korean soldiers. While the North Koreans were allowed to use the building for their own tours, it was not being used at this time for such a purpose. Rather, the North Koreans had simply decided to lock the door and post several soldiers in the building for no other reason than to annoy their counterparts across the MDL. The UN commanding officer, in a rage, ordered that the door to the North be locked and remain so as soon as the North Koreans finally vacated the building (not until several days later).
Some in South Korea seem to be nonetheless optimistic about future relations with the North. Not too far from the JSA, construction is going on just south of the DMZ at the site of the main highway and railway line which formerly connected the country's two halves. A large immigration and customs facility is being built on the highway and the Dorasan Railway Station was recently completed. A sign already leads to tracks for the train to Pyeongyang, although the tracks themselves remain unused.
A view of North Korea across the DMZ
Dorasan Railway Station: Tracks to Pyeongyang
posted by Tor at 12:15 AM
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