demilitarized zone

demilitarized zone
1. an area in which it is forbidden to station military forces or maintain military installations.
2. Informal. any area, place, or circumstance in which conflicts or hostilities are held in abeyance. Abbr.: DMZ
[1930-35]

* * *

▪ Korean peninsula
      region on the Korean peninsula that demarcates North Korea (Korea, North) from South Korea (Korea, South). It roughly follows latitude 38° N (the 38th parallel), the original demarcation line between North Korea and South Korea at the end of World War II.

      The demilitarized zone (DMZ) incorporates territory on both sides of the cease-fire line as it existed at the end of the Korean War (1950–53) and was created by pulling back the respective forces 1.2 miles (2 km) along each side of the line. It runs for about 150 miles (240 km) across the peninsula, from the mouth of the Han River on the west coast to a little south of the North Korean town of Kosŏng on the east coast. Located within the DMZ is the “truce village” of P'anmunjŏm, about 5 miles (8 km) east of Kaesŏng, N.Kor. It was the site of peace discussions during the Korean War and has since been the location of various conferences over issues related to North and South Korea, their allies, and the United Nations.

      The areas north and south of the DMZ are heavily fortified, and both sides maintain large contingents of troops there. Over the years there have been occasional incidents and minor skirmishes but no significant conflicts. Once farmland and subsequently a devastated battleground, the DMZ has lain almost untouched since the end of hostilities and has reverted to nature to a large extent, making it one of the most pristine undeveloped areas in Asia. The zone contains many ecosystems including forests, estuaries, and wetlands frequented by migratory birds. It serves as a sanctuary for hundreds of bird species, among them the endangered white-naped and red-crowned cranes, and is home to dozens of fish species and Asiatic black bears, lynxes, and other mammals. In mid-2007 limited freight-train service was resumed across the zone.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Demilitarized Zone —   [Abk. DMZ, dt. »demilitarisierte Zone«], bei der Implementierung einer Firewall einzurichtende Zone, in der interne und externe Systeme miteinander kommunizieren können …   Universal-Lexikon

  • demilitarized zone — n. An area where no military activity is permitted. abbrv. DMZ The Essential Law Dictionary. Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008 …   Law dictionary

  • Demilitarized zone — DMZ redirects here. For other uses, see DMZ (disambiguation). This article is about the military term. For the computer networking term, see DMZ (computing). The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone separated North Vietnam and South Vietnam. In military …   Wikipedia

  • demilitarized zone — noun a zone from which military forces or operations or installations are prohibited tensions exist on both sides of the demilitarized zone separating North Korea and South Korea • Syn: ↑DMZ • Hypernyms: ↑zone * * * 1. an area in which it is… …   Useful english dictionary

  • demilitarized zone — UK [diːˌmɪlɪtəraɪzd ˈzəʊn] / US [dɪˌmɪlɪtəraɪzd ˈzoʊn] noun [countable] Word forms demilitarized zone : singular demilitarized zone plural demilitarized zones an area where no soldiers or fighting between armies is allowed, usually as the result… …   English dictionary

  • Demilitarized Zone — Aufbau mit einstufigem Firewall Konzept …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • demilitarized zone — demilitarizuotoji zona statusas T sritis Gynyba apibrėžtis Nustatytas rajonas, kuriame draudžiama laikyti ar telkti karines pajėgas ir statyti karines bazes. atitikmenys: angl. demilitarized zone pranc. zone démilitarisée …   NATO terminų aiškinamasis žodynas

  • Demilitarized Zone Peace Preservation Corps — The Demilitarized Zone Peace Preservation Corps was a police force created by the Tanggu Truce to patrol and maintain order in the demilitarized zone extending from south of the Great Wall, to a line north east of the Bai River in Hebei province… …   Wikipedia

  • Demilitarized zone (computing) — In computer security, a demilitarized zone (DMZ), based on military usage of the term but more appropriately known as a demarcation zone or perimeter network, is a physical or logical subnetwork that contains and exposes an organization s… …   Wikipedia

  • demilitarized zone — (Roget s IV) n. Syn. neutral ground, neutral territory, buffer, buffer zone, no man s land, DMZ …   English dictionary for students

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”