Free Republic

Newly released photos offer a rare glimpse into the abandoned demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, revealing rare wildlife and plant life flourishing in the space largely untouched by humans. Endangered animals and unique flora are thriving in the 160-mile-long strip of border land that has been largely deserted by humans for decades. A total of 6,168 wildlife species have created a home in the DMZ area, where landmines buried underground are a reminder of the Korean War that ended in armistice some 70 years ago.

If a week is a long time in politics, 24-hours can seem like an eternity, especially when a White House administration is confused by basic historical facts. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris amply illustrated this Thursday when she ended her four-day trip to Asia with a journey to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the Korean Peninsula. During the stop she confused onlooks by asserting the United States has a “strong alliance” with “the Republic of North Korea.”

Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Korean Demilitarized Zone that divides North and South Korea on Thursday as part of her visit to South Korea, a White House official said. Harris’ trip will include site visits at the DMZ, meetings with service members, and an operational briefing from US commanders, the official said, reiterating the US’ commitment “to stand beside” South Korea in the face of “any threats” posed by North Korea. Harris, the official added, “will reflect on the shared sacrifice of tens of thousands of American and Korean soldiers who fought and died together, and will reaffirm...

North Korea announced Wednesday it would deploy troops to the Kaesong Industrial Zone and Mt. Kumgang tourist area, locations that were once the sites of joint economic ventures with South Korea, as Pyongyang continued to ratchet up tensions a day after it demolished an inter-Korean liaison office. The North will also reinstall guard posts that had been removed from the Demilitarized Zone and conduct military drills in border areas, according to a statement by a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army "Civil police posts that had been withdrawn from the Demilitarized Zone under the north-south agreement...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North and South Korean troops exchanged fire along their tense border on Sunday, the South’s military said, blaming North Korean soldiers for targeting a guard post. The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said in a statement that North Korean troops fired several bullets at a South Korean guard post inside the heavily fortified border. South Korea fired two rounds in response after issuing a warning broadcast, it said. MORE AT LINK

An upcoming HBO Max series from Ava DuVernay will depict the United States in the grips of a second American Civil War, with the federal government battling secessionist forces called the Free State armies. Deadline reported Tuesday that DMZ has received a pilot order from HBO Max, the upcoming streaming service from Warner Media. The show, based on the DC Comics title of the same name that debuted in 2005, takes place in what was formerly New York but is now a demilitarized zone.

VIDEO A large crowd gathered in Pyongyang to hear the announcement by North Korean officials that President Donald Trump had stepped over the DMZ line into North Korea. As you can see, those officials also seemed to have an agenda of their own.

With wide grins and a historic handshake, President Trump became the first sitting U.S. leader to set foot in North Korea when he took 20 steps into the Hermit Kingdom on Sunday. Trump shook hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he crossed the low stone curb separating the North and the South at around 3:45 p.m. local time. The event in the Demilitarized Zone — which also included a roughly 50-minute meeting behind closed doors — marked a return to face-to-face contact between the two leaders after talks broke down during a summit in Vietnam in February....

When President Trump sent a Twitter invitation on Friday to North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, to meet at the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone separating the Koreas — “just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!” — both men had much to gain, and more to lose. If Mr. Kim did not attend, even though his side had seemed intrigued, it would have embarrassed Mr. Trump and opened him up to more criticism for his unpredictable diplomacy. It would also have compounded the dramatic failure of their summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, which Mr. Trump abruptly called off in February. . ....

VIDEO A compilation of some of the mainstream news media downplaying or grumbling about the significance of President Donald Trump meeting North Korea's Kim Jong Un at the DMZ and crossing over into North Korea. After their general grumbling earlier in the morning, the MSM seems to have settled on the worn out talking point that it was all just a "photo-op."

President Donald Trump will meet Sunday with North Korea's Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone separating the North and South, a day after he issued an unprecedented invitation and expressed willingness to cross the border for what would be a history-making photo op. South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced that Kim accepted Trump's invitation to meet when the U.S. president visits the heavily fortified site at the Korean border village of Panmunjom. Moon praised the two leaders for ''being so brave'' to hold the meeting and said, ''I hope President Trump will go down in history as the president...

VIDEO It would be an incredible historic moment: Donald Trump being the first U.S. president to step into North Korea. And this is why CNN is irked by that possibility. They are also bothered the casualness of Trump's tweet invite to Kim Jong Un to meet him at the DMZ perhaps to have some tacos...or kimchi.

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea Tourism Organization announced yesterday that it had developed three travel packages that allow tourists to visit the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The first package, the “Hwacheon DMZ Mt. Seorak Train Tour” had a total of 80 people leaving Busan and Miryang by train to make stops at the Observation Deck in Hwacheon, the Peace Dam, Bimok Park and other attractions. On the last day of the tour, visitors enjoyed the autumn foliage at the Jujeongol at Mangyeongdae Pavilion in Seoraksan National Park. The second program had 40 retired shipbuilding workers from the...

So powerful to watch POWs returning home. History...

South Korea says it plans to scale back the number of guard posts along its tense border with North Korea and withdraw some military equipment. The move comes amid talks with the U.S. over how much Seoul should pay for its own defense. The announcement comes as an expert on North Korea's weapons program reports that Pyongyang has begun dismantling key facilities at a satellite launching station in fulfillment of a pledge by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month at the Singapore summit with President Trump. In a report on Tuesday, South Korea's defense ministry apprised a parliamentary...

The two Koreas will discuss recovering the remains of fallen soldiers and eliminating land mines in the Dmz Zone during another round of military talks expected to take place as early as late this month. They will also run a communication line among their naval ships in the Yellow Sea and fully restore western and eastern military communication channels, according to the agreement reached during Thursday's general-grade meeting, the first in more than a decade. "In the follow-up military talks, (we) plan to focus on the issue of replacing the old communication line in the North and establishing a new...

So is the on again, off again summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un… on again? There was a surprise announcement from the DMZ today, showing Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in once again greeting, hugging and smiling in the DMZ on the North Korean side. Moon has been struggling to hold some sort of deal together ever since the event planning went sour this past week. The fact that the two were meeting face to face is raising the question of whether or not the deal may be back in motion. (New York Post) South Korean President Moon...

This is at the DMZ right now.  The North Korean Dictator is about to cross over into South Korea at the DMZ.https://twitter.com/i/events/971974473560674305

American nabbed while trying to enter N. Korea 2017/11/13 15:36 UIJEONGBU, South Korea, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. citizen was arrested by South Korean police Monday for crossing the Civilian Control Line (CCL) near the inter-Korean border without a permit in an alleged attempt to enter North Korea, authorities concerned said. The CCL was drawn just below the Demilitarized Zone bisecting the two Koreas from the west to the east in 1954 to strictly protect the security of military facilities and operations there. The 58-year-old American, only identified as "A," was seized at 9:55 a.m. as he trespassed on...

North Korea defector who crossed DMZ 'was shot five times' 14 November 2017 A North Korean who defected at the heavily guarded Demilitarised Zone was shot at least five times and is in a critical condition, South Korea says. The soldier crossed to the South Korean side of the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the village of Panmunjom on Monday. He had driven near the JSA, but had to finish his journey by foot when a wheel came loose, the South said. North Korean troops shot at him 40 times - but he made it across and was found under...