• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.25-31
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• 2023

The dispute over the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea has been sharply opposed since the U.N. commander set it in August 1953 with the aim of preventing accidental armed conflict between the two Koreas in the waters of the Korean Peninsula. In 2022, for the first time since the division, North Korea made a missile provocation beyond the NLL. The purpose of this study is to identify how the research on the NLL, which is under way by North Korea's actual provocation, has been conducted and to suggest a direction to proceed. This study examined the trend of research using a total of five academic information DBs, including RISS and Scholar, focusing on academic papers studied on NLL from 1998 to 2023. As a result of examining the current status of each year, field, and research method, significant differences in research volume were identified according to the government's relationship with North Korea, and the research field had the most introduction of the concept of NLL and historical background, confirming the need to expand to more diverse fields to have international legal justification and justification for the NLL, considering the changing international environment according to the logic of power. In terms of final research methods, most of them were literature studies, so the need for quantitative research using interviews, surveys, and big data was also found. It is hoped that the analysis results of this paper will play a positive role in setting the research direction for the international response of the NLL in the future amid the interests of the international political environment that is still ongoing.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Strategy21
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• s.30
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• pp.63-98
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• 2012

Northeast Asia has a multi-layered security structure within which major economic and military powers both confront one another and cooperate at the same time. Major regional powers maintain mutually cooperative activities in the economic sphere while competing one another in order to secure a dominant position in the politico-military arena. The multifarious threats, posed by the North Korea's nuclear development, territorial disputes, and maritime demarcation line issues demonstrate that Northeast Asia suffers more from military conflicts and strifes than any other region in the world. Specifically, major maritime security threats include North Korea's nuclear proliferation and missile launching problems as well as military provocations nearby the Northern Limit Line(NLL) as witnessed in the Cheonan naval ship and Yeonpyong incidents. The ROK Navy has been supplementing its firm military readiness posture in consideration of North Korea's threats on the NLL. It has performed superb roles in defending the nation and establishing the Navy advanced and best picked. It also has been conducive to defend the nation from external military threats and invasion, secure the sea lanes of communications, and establish regional stability and world peace. In order to effectively cope with the strategic environment and future warfares, the ROK Navy needs to shift its military structure to one that is more information and technology intensive. In addition, it should consolidate the ROK-US alliance and extend military cooperative measures with neighboring countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Evolved steadily for the last 60 years, the ROK-US alliance format has contributed to peace and security on the Korean peninsula and in the Northeast Asian region. In conclusion, this manuscript contends that the ROK Navy should strive for the establishment of the following: (1) Construction of Jeju Naval Base; (2) Strategic Navy Equipped with War Deterrence Capabilities; (3) Korean-type of System of Systems; (4) Structure, Budget and Human Resources of the Naval Forces Similar to the Advanced Countries; and (5) Strategic Maritime Alliance and Alignment System as well as Domestic Governance Network for the Naval Families.

• Journal of National Security and Military Science
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• s.5
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• pp.173-202
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• 2007

After successful nuclear tests Pakistan launched a more severe surprise attack toward India than before. It is highly possible that North Korea will adopt this Pakistan military strategy if it is armed with nuclear weapons. The North Korean forces armed, with nuclear bombs could make double its war capability through strengthening aggressive force structure and come into effect on blocking reinforcement of the US forces at the initial phase of war time. Therefore we may regard that Pyongyang's nuclear arming is a major one of various factors which increase possibility of waging a conventional warfare or a nuclear war. North Korea's high self-confidence after nuclear arming will heighten tension on the Korean Peninsula via aggressive military threat or terror toward South Korea, and endeavor to accomplish its political purpose via low-intensity conflicts. For instance, nuclear arming of the Pyongyang regime enforces the North Korean forces to invade the Northern Limit Line(NLL), provoke naval battles at the West Sea, and occupy one or two among the Five Islands at the West Sea. In that case, the South Korean forces will be faced with a serious dilemma. In order to recapture the islands, Seoul should be ready for escalating a war. However it is hard to imagine that South Korea fights with North Korea armed with nuclear weapons. This paper concludes that the Pyongyang regime after nuclear arming strongly tends to occupy superiority of military strategy and wage military provocations on the Korean Peninsula.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.454-460
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• 2007

Korean War resulted in the fact that Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the neck of Korean peninsular was totally forgotten by people for more than half a century. But recently, as the concern in this DMZ has been rising inside and outside of Korea, the researches on this subject have been gradually quickening. However, the practical studies about spatial extent of DMZ are very feeble. Even the analysis of the previous studies shows that the most of researches had mistakes in the spatial description of MDL and DMZ, neutral territory of Han River estuary, and NLL. In this study the length of MDL, stretching till the estuary of western Lim- Jin River in Myung-Ho Ri of Goseong region on East Coast, was measured to be about Z38km (l48miles); the area of corresponding DMZ was proved to be approximately $903.8km^2$ ($907.3km^2$ in the previous studies). Such results show that it is necessary to decide the terms for calling the space dividing North and South Korea, similarly to "155-mile truce line".

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2007.03a
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• pp.188-191
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• 2007

The Han River is divided into North and South Korea by NLL(Northern Limit Line) and its area has been blocked by CCL(Civil Control Line) since the Korean War in 1950. Satellite remote sensing, therefore, is uniquely suited to monitoring bar transformation in the region. In river with bar, the characteristics of its physical conditions have a close relationship with bar morphology. In this paper, a monitoring approach of bar transformation in the Han River Estuary is presented using RADARSAT/SAR images from 2000 to 2005 and spatial patterns of bar morphology are presented. it could be said that in the estuary vegetated area and natural levees are developed well, but bars are shifted after an event like a flood. It is also showed that suspended solids such as silt transported through the estuary could contribute highly to a sedimentation environment around Incheon.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.3 s.18
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• pp.59-68
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• 2004

Unmanned surface vehicles(USVs) have been developed for special operations in foreign navies. These will be employed to conduct critical missions including inspection, coast guard, ISR, fire protection, precision strike, mine interception warfare and antisubmarine warfare. It is also known the USVs will be deployed at the front line of the network-centric warfare to replace the manned naval operations. The unmanned operation can, thus, minimize unnecessary risk to personnel and enhance the success probability for the imposed mission. In this research, the USVs which are under operation and development in foreign navies are investigated. Based on this, an USV with $7\~10m$ of length and 10ton of weight for the Korean Navy which can be deployed near the Northern Limit Line(NLL), is proposed.

• Proceedings of KOSOMES biannual meeting
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.57-60
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• 2007

The Han River is divided into North and South Korea by NLL(Northern Limit Line) and its area has been blocked by CCL(Civil Control Line) since the Korean War in 1950. Satellite remote sensing, therefore, is uniquely suited to monitoring bar transformation in the region. In river with bar, the characteristics of its physical conditions have a close relationship with bar morphology. In this paper, a monitoring approach of bar transformation in the Han River Estuary is presented using RADARSAT/SAR images from 2000 to 2005 and spatial patterns of bar morphology are presented. It could be said that in the estuary vegetated area and natural levees are developed well, but bars are shifted after an event like a flood. It is also showed that suspended solids such as silt transported through the estuary could contribute highly to a sedimentation environment around Incheon.