Joint Security Area

The JSA has been the site of numerous events and incidents since its establishment in 1953, the first of which was the repatriation of prisoners of war (POWs) after the cessation of hostilities, across the Bridge of No Return.

[7][8][9][10] On November 6, 2018, it was announced that the UNC would transfer primary guard duties of the now demilitarized Joint Security Area to both North and South Korea.

It was destroyed during the war, and all that now remains on the site of the village is the building constructed for the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement, now the North Korea Peace Museum.

Meetings of MAC representatives from the United Nations Command (UNC) and the Korean People's Army/Chinese People's Volunteers (KPA/CPV) were held at the Joint Security Area, an 800-meter (2600 ft) wide enclave, roughly circular in shape, bisected by the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) separating South and North Korea, and created as a neutral area, where there was free movement of both sides anywhere within the JSA boundaries.

The only boundary change of the Joint Security Area was the enforcement of the dividing line within the JSA after the murders of two American officers in 1976.

In the mid-1970s the JSA consisted of the JSF company with three platoons of one U.S. and one ROKA officer, and thirty enlisted men, supported by a battalion staff.

In July 1987 the four platoons of the Joint Security Force (JSF) company were reorganized to mix KATUSA and US soldiers at all levels.

The number of U.S. personnel assigned decreased further, reflecting the UNC Commander's desire to minimize the USFK presence near the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

The UNCSB-JSA Commander's principal responsibility now lies in his operational control of selected ROKA formations during both Armistice and wartime periods.

[11][12] During one of the initial negotiations of the armistice, agents of the KPA/CPV side went into the truce tents one night and sawed down the chair legs of the UNC delegation.

The next day, when the UNC delegates arrived, they were forced to sit lower than their KPA/CPV counterparts and lost face, so they quickly left the meeting.

[25][26][27] Being at the center of one of the world's most tense military and political fault lines, the Joint Security Area has been the site of numerous interactions between North and South, including over 750 overt acts of violence.

In June 1953, ROK president Syngman Rhee released a further 25,000 KPA soldiers held in ROKA camps (mostly southerners impressed into service for the north) into South Korea in an attempt to wreck the armistice negotiations.

After landing at the port of Inchon, the UNCMAC Support Group (Provisional) moved all personnel to the Demilitarized Zone by helicopter in a single day without incident.

Approximately 23,000 KPA and CPV soldiers held in UNC prisoner of war camps refused to return to Communist control.

Under the provisions of the Armistice, these soldiers were held for a further six months and interviewed by neutral observers to ensure they had not been coerced into refusing repatriation.

[10] It was agreed that at this point, the MDL which runs through the JSA will be open to local and foreign tourists so they can reenact Kim and Moon's crossing which occurred on April 27, 2018.

[22] No date was set for the resumption of JSA tourism when rules were established for the transfer of guard duty command on November 6, 2018, as well.

North Korean soldiers standing guard at the JSA between the blue buildings. View from the north. To the rear, the ground floor of Freedom House, in South Korea. The low-level concrete ledge running between the two soldiers is the border mark in the security area.
Map of the current Joint Security Area (JSA) showing the red Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and the buildings; solid black are occupied by North Korea (KPA) and the white are occupied by South Korea (ROK) and the United Nations (UN)
Two KPA soldiers standing guard inside a JSA conference room, in front of the door leading to the South Korean side of the JSA. View from north to south.
A Republic of Korea soldier of the United Nations Command Security Battalion stands guard inside a JSA conference room, in front of the door leading to the North Korean side of the JSA. View from south to north.
Buildings in the Joint Security Area as they appeared in 1956. View from the south.
The monument marking the site of the Axe Murder Incident in the Joint Security Area on the border of North and South Korea, as seen in 2012
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met at the Joint Security Area on April 27, 2018.
U.S. President Donald Trump and leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un briefly met at the Joint Security Area on June 30, 2019.