KFS regional office hears from experts on uninhabited area south of inter-Korean border


The Northern Regional Office of the Korea Forest Service gathered opinions from a group of forest experts on October 4 ahead of its planned ecological survey on a strip of uninhabited land along the inter-Korean border.


The field survey is scheduled to start in November over 58,620 ha of land that lies between the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), which divides South and North Korea, and the Civilian Control Line (CCL), which is located 5 to 20 km south of the MDL and marks the northernmost boundary that South Korean civilians can enter.


The area between the MDL and the CCL has been beyond civilian access since the 1950-53 Korean War and maintains indigenous forest ecosystems and natural landscapes.


The Office invited the experts to hear their views about the current state of the area and how to research, analyze and database its ecosystems and implement conservation and utilization measures. The survey is part of the KFS policy to build a comprehensive forest management plan along the uninhabited border land. A Special Law on the Management of Forest Land North of the Civilian Control Line was established in April, 2012.


Yoon Young-kyoon, director general of the KFS Northern Regional Office, said in the meeting, “The office plans to establish a scientific and systematic plan for comprehensive forest land management in the area, taking into account the area’s ecological, geographical and cultural characteristics and striking a balance between conservation and use.”