Koreas to Reconnect Road Within DMZ on Thursday

First connected road in the area in generations

Jason Ditz 

Posted onNovember 21, 2018CategoriesNewsTagsNorth Korea, South Korea

Since the 1953 armistice of the Korean War, all roads within the demilitarized zone have been severed. On Thursday, for the first time since then, a single road will be reconnected by the two Koreas.

South Korean officials described the road as unpaved, and in Gangwon Province. The two sides will coordinate on this first road connection as part of recent deals to improve tensions. The Koreans remain technically at war.

A year’s worth of diplomatic progress has both sides seeing the end in sight for the war, and the deal will not only see this road connected, but also a rail link, at some future point. These are the start of what could become formal connections between peaceful neighbors.

How far off that is is anyone’s guess, but both Koreas have expressed interest in reaching a peace deal soon. The big obstacle to that seems to be the Trump Administration, which has expressed opposition to any such deal until North Korea fully disarms its nuclear program, which they concede will take many years.

https://news.antiwar.com/2018/11/21/koreas-to-reconnect-road-within-dmz-on-thursday/