• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.19-26
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• 2013

The Military Demarcation Line(MDL) divided the two Koreas when armistice agreement was signed in 1953, July 27 but there was no regulation for the sea border. Since then, The North has constantly denied the legitimacy of the sea border, which has remained the inter-Korean maritime border. But the armistice agreement has been virtual maritime demarcation line for the avoidance of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula and maintain and manage the armistice system peacefully. Therefore we should strengthen the Korea's sovereignty over the NLL by tightening the effective control.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.110-123
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• 2004

Five Islands in the West Sea of Korea (Baekryeong-do, Daecheong-do, Socheong-do, Yeonpyeong-do, and Woo-do) are located very close to the North Korea's coast and all of them are under the jurisdiction of South Korea. The North and South Korean naval vessels clashed twice in the West Sea of Korea on June 15, 1999 and on June 29, 2002. These incidents were resulted from conflicts over the validity of the Northern Limit Line(NLL) and the appropriate maritime boundary between the two Koreas. From the viewpoint of South Korea, the North Limit Line is a lawful Maritime Military Demarcation Line under the Korean Military Armistice Agreement and it must be maintained as a maritime boundary between two Koreas until being substituted by a peace treaty. In conclusion, the maritime boundary between two Koreas cannot be settled easily by the principles of the International Law of the Sea at present.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 2019

This study is to measure the length of the Demilitarized Zone and the Military Demarcation Line(MDL) on the Korean Peninsular. For this purpose, maps of the Armistice Agreement Volume II were used. These maps are nine sheets. In order to extract the MDL shown on the map, coordinates were assigned to the scanned image maps using the georeferencing module of ArcGIS based on the sheet line coordinates. The accuracy of the extracted vectors was checked by overlaying them on the maps of the Armistice Agreement Volume II. And I tried to validate these vectors through comparative analysis with vectors extracted from Kim(2007). Vectors extracted from Kim(2007) had errors in the curvilinear parts of the MDL, but the vectors extracted from this study exactly matched the MDL in the Armistice Agreement Volume II. The measured length is 239.42km(148.77miles). This means that the expression '155mile MDL' or '248km DMZ' in papers, reports or mass media has so far been inappropriate. I think this study will be able to provide information on the exact length of the DMZ in studies related with DMZ or in policy decisions by the national and local government. However, it is deemed necessary to verify this result by national organizations such as the NGII(National Geographic Information Institute). After these verification procedures, I hope that the national government will inform the people of the exact length of DMZ and MDL.

• Strategy21
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• s.31
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• pp.27-56
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• 2013

The United Nations Command (UNC) and the communist North failed to reach an agreement on where the maritime demarcation line should be drawn in the process of signing a truce after the Korean War because of the starkly different positions on the boundary of their territorial waters. As a result, the Armistice Treaty was signed on July 1953 without clarification about the maritime border. In the following month, Commander of the UNC unilaterally declared the Northern Limit Line (NLL) as a complementing measure to the Armistice. Referring to this, North Korea and its followers in South Korea wrongfully argue that the NLL is a "ghost line" that was established not based on the international law. However, one should note that the waters south of the NLL has always been under South Korea's jurisdiction since Korea's independence from Japan on August 15, 1945. There is no need to ask North Korea's approval for declaring the territorial waters that had already been under our sovereign jurisdiction. We do not need North Korea's approval just as we do not need Japan's approval with regard to our sovereign right over Dokdo. The legal status of the NLL may be explained with the following three characteristics. First, the NLL is a de facto maritime borderline that defines the territorial waters under the respective jurisdiction of the two divided countries. Second, the NLL in the West Sea also serves as a de facto military demarcation line at sea that can be likened to the border on the ground. Third, as a contacting line where the sea areas controlled by the two Koreas meet, the NLL is a maritime non-aggression line that was established on the legal basis of the 'acquiescence' element stipulated by the Inter-Korea Basic Agreement (article 11) and the Supplement on the Non-aggression principle (article 10). Particularly from the perspective of the domestic law, the NLL should be understood as a boundary defining areas controlled by temporarily divided states (not two different states) because the problem exists between a legitimate central government (South Korea) and an anti-government group (North Korea). In this sense, the NLL problem should be viewed not in terms of territorial preservation or expansion. Rather, it should be understood as a matter of national identity related to territorial sovereignty and national pride. North Korea's continuous efforts to problematize the NLL may be part of its strategy to nullify the Armistice Treaty. In other words, North Korea tries to take away the basis of the NLL by abrogating the Armistice Treaty and creating a condition in which the United Nations Command can be dissolved. By doing so, North Korea may be able to start the process for the peace treaty with the United States and reestablish a maritime line of its interest. So, North Korea's rationale behind making the NLL a disputed line is to deny the effectiveness of the NLL and ask for the establishment of a new legal boundary. Such an effort should be understood as part of a strategy to make the NLL question a political and military dispute (the similar motivation can be found in Japan's effort to make Dokdo a disputed Island). Therefore, the South Korean government should not accommodate such hidden intentions and strategy of North Korea. The NLL has been the de facto maritime border (that defines our territorial waters) and military demarcation line at sea that we have defended with a lot of sacrifice for the last sixty years. This is the line that our government and the military must defend in the future as we have done so far. Our commitment to the defense of the NLL is not only a matter of national policy protecting territorial sovereignty and jurisdiction; it is also our responsibility for those who were fallen while defending the North-Western Islands and the NLL.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.114-128
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• 2019

This study is a spatial analysis of the boundaries related to the division of the Korean peninsula. The boundary space was extracted by extracting $38^{th}$ parallel and digitizing the map of the Armistice Agreement Annex. The purpose of this analysis was to extract more accurate scope based on the armistice agreement, the appendices, and the UNC regulations and to analyze the wrong information correctly. The range of demilitarized zones was determined by UNC 551-4(2014) and UNC 551-5(2015) to ensure that there is no change in the location of the Southern Limit Line. It also confirmed that the MACHA was excluded in the DMZ. As a result, the area of the DMZ was measured at $889.7km^2$. Also this study identified the interval and number of markers in the MDL and the Han River estuary. It could be confirmed that the interval of markers within the MDL depends on the subject of management. This study is more accurate from the start and can be used as basic data needed in the study and education of DMZ and border areas after verification by public organizations.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.571-578
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• 2014

The boundaries of ROK maritime jurisdictional area remains unclear as two Koreas failed to draw clear maritime boundaries at the armistice agreement and there are no clear maritime boundaries with China and Japan. After the Korean War, the United Nations Command established the northern limit line(NLL) as well as the area of operations(AO) to enforce the DPRK's compliance with the armistice agreement and has been controlling all of the maritime and air activities in the region. ROK also has been controlling the passage of DPRK vessels in the area. Within the AO, third nation vessels have freedom of navigation, Yet, due to the division followed by the Korean War, ROK classifies DPRK as a hostile state and unique controling system is applied to DPRK vessels. Since the establishment of the AO, many changes have been occurring such as adoption of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS) and two Koreas' joining the UN. Also, there are continuous inter-Korean conflicts. Therefore, the geographical span of the AO needs to be reconsidered. Furthermore, a legal measure which ensures ROKN vessel's functional capability of controling DPRK vessels must be introduced. This thesis examines post-Korean War DPRK vessel control system in the Korean peninsula as well as how it should be improved.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.355-363
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• 2015

DMZ(Demilitarized Zone) created as part of the Armistice Agreement is important zone in the way that historic and eco-cultural value as well as military and political image of this are remarkable. Furthermore, the concern of DMZ has been rising at home and abroad. Even though various studies on this subject have been constantly spurring according to the significance, the practical researches on spatial range of DMZ are very weak. The Purpose of this research is to show the factual spatial extent of DMZ from the mouth of the Imjingang River in the west to the town of Goseong in the east. This study proved the area of corresponding DMZ is approximately $570km^2$ contrary to the previous studies and claims it is difficult to measure the actual length of MDL(Military Demarcation Line) regarded as 155mile in this situation of Korea peninsula.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.103-108
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• 2019

Although the Korean Armistice Agreement resulted in complete cessation of the hostilities of the Korean War, it also initiated a rule that obligates Korean men to compulsorily participate in military service. However, psychological factors such as anxiety, stress, and negative perception among the young participants joining the military lead to inefficiency in training and performance. Several types of media production companies have been tasked to deal with this problem. However, their tools have not adequately addressed the root causes of the psychological distress. Stress rates are still high among the youth. This paper offers a method of reducing anxiety and psychological stress among those joining the military. It also aims to help improve concentration and cope with the pessimism of military life. The study measured the increase in concentration as well as the changing rate of anxiety and psychological stress in the participants of two experimental groups. A significant result with t = 2.487, p = 0.042, and 95% confidence levels was revealed by analyzing the data pertaining to the experimental group that was directly exposed to the sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) wave implying that this brain wave alleviated feelings of anxiety and psychological stress. The method proposed in this paper can thus be applied to mitigate stress in soldiers and help them with their personal and military lives. Further interdisciplinary experiments examining the associations between the electrocardiogram and electroencephalogram are required.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.242-257
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• 2019

The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) stretches two kilometers north and south from the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) of South and North Korea. This area was established as a weapons-free buffer zone when an armistice agreement was signed in 1953. However, there have been several very high-tension military standoffss over the past 65 years. On the South Korean side, civilian access to the Civilian Control Line (CCL) and beyond to the north has been restricted, and natural heritage has been well maintained. Natural heritage is defined as living things, their habitat and non-living things of the ecosystem which deserve to be protected. Research shows that a variety of flora and fauna, their habitat, marshes and geographical structures are found across the DMZ region. Although the DMZ region has not been such a good place for habitat conservation, we can say that this area may be the best location for restoration in terms of its variety of ecosystems and considerable land size. Restoration of course depends on future plans and management policies. This area, including the DMZ and the well-protected north of the CCL, will be the best habitat for endangered species of wild fauna and flora if we classify the various habitat types and create a habitat map. In doing this project, we need to include the estuary of the Han River and the lagoon (brackish water lake) of the East Sea coast. In addition, we must establish long-term plans for conservation and sustainable use and do international scientific research across the DMZ region in collaboration with scientists of South and North Korea and international experts. Mutual cooperation between the two Koreas for investigation and conservation efforts is paramount.

• Strategy21
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• s.30
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• pp.99-142
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• 2012

Withe increased North Korea's security threats, the South Korean navy has been faced with deteriorating security environment. While North Korea has increased asymmetric forces in the maritime and underwater with the development of nuclear weapons, and China and Japan have made a large investment in the buildup of naval forces, the power of the Pacific fleet of the US, a key ally is expected to be weakened. The biggest threat comes from China's intervention in case of full-scale war with North Korea, but low-density conflict issues are also serious problems. North Korea has violated the Armistice Agreement 2,660 times since the end of Korean War, among which the number of marine provocations reaches 1,430 times, and the tension over the NLL issue has been intensifying. With tension mounting between Korea and Japan over the Dokdo issue and conflict escalating with China over Ieo do Islet, the US Navy has confronted situation where it cannot fully concentrate on the security of the Korean peninsula, which leads to need for strengthening of South Korea's naval forces. Let's look at naval forces of neighboring countries. North Korea is threatening South Korean navy with its increased asymmetric forces, including submarines. China has achieved the remarkable development of naval forces since the promotion of 3-step plan to strengthen naval power from 1989, and it now retains highly modernized naval forces. Japan makes an investment in the construction of stat of the art warship every year. Since Japan's warship boasts of its advanced performance, Japan's Maritime Self Defense Force is evaluated the second most powerful behind the US Navy on the assumption that submarine power is not included in the naval forces. In this situation, naval power construction of South Korean navy should be done in phases, focusing on the followings; First, military strength to repel the energy warship quickly without any damage in case of battle with North Korea needs to be secured. Second, it is necessary to develop abilities to discourage the use of nuclear weapons of North Korea and attack its nuclear facilities in case of emergency. Third, construction of military power to suppress armed provocations from China and Japan is required. Based on the above naval power construction methods, the direction of power construction is suggested as follows. The sea fleet needs to build up its war potential to defeat the naval forces of North Korea quickly and participate in anti-submarine operations in response to North Korea's provocations. The task fleet should be composed of 3 task flotilla and retain the power to support the sea fleet and suppress the occurrence of maritime disputes with neighboring countries. In addition, it is necessary to expand submarine power, a high value power asset in preparation for establishment of submarine headquarters in 2015, develop anti-submarine helicopter and load SLAM-ER missile onto P-3C patrol aircraft. In case of maine corps, division class military force should be able to conduct landing operations. It takes more than 10 years to construct a new warship. Accordingly, it is necessary to establish plans for naval power construction carefully in consideration of reality and future. For the naval forces to safeguard maritime sovereignty and contribute to national security, the acquisition of a huge budget and buildup of military power is required. In this regard, enhancement of naval power can be achieved only through national, political and military understanding and agreement. It is necessary to let the nation know that modern naval forces with improved weapon system can serve as comprehensive armed forces to secure the command of the sea, perform defense of territory and territorial sky and attack the enemy's strategic facilities and budget inputted in the naval forces is the essential source for early end of the war and minimization of damage to the people. If the naval power construction is not realized, we can be faced with a national disgrace of usurpation of national sovereignty of 100 years ago. Accordingly, the strengthening of naval forces must be realized.