Day 11

Today we visited the DMZ. The Demilitarized Zone is the most fortified border in the world separating North and South Korea. I took this picture very close to the actual border. The line is where the gravel ends and the concrete begins. The soldiers walking are from North Korea, and the soldier at the bottom of  the picture is from South Korea. Here is a closer look.

Periodically the North Koreans and the United Nations use one of the buildings (the Military Armistice Commission Building) in this Joint Security Area to negotiate. Our group of journalists was able to "stand" on the North Korean side inside the building. Regular tourists can do the same.

 No, those aren't blood pressure cuffs on our arms, as part of a special press tour, we had to wear these badges.

The demarcation line isn't straight. It winds through the countryside. We saw the border from several different posts, including these. Unfortunately there was a thick haze and the view wasn't great. At the bottom notice Chinese tourists looking through binoculars. On a clear day through these binoculars you can see the industrial city of Kaesong (121 factories) and a bronze statue of Kim Il Sung.

There have been a number of military incidents near the border. In 1976 the North Koreans killed two U.S. military men who were trying to trim a tree that blocked the U.S. view between two posts. Three days later "Operation Paul Bunyon" cut the tree down. Here's where it once stood.

Here are a few other pictures. This is a major highway that leads to Kaesong, North Korea. It's also the entrance point of our tour. Also below, see a Republic of Korea soldier (ROK-South Korea) guarding the Joint Security Area. He's wearing sunglasses to avoid any eye contact with the North Koreans and is in a taekwondo stance.

This is my last blog entry for this trip. I'll be back in Cincinnati on the air Monday. Thanks for reading!