Civilians in South Korea will be able to get several kilometres nearer North Korea under new rules broadening public access to the highly militarised border zone, Seoul’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday (June 18, 2026).

The two Koreas remain technically at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, and are separated by a demilitarised zone through which the border runs.

A Civilian Control Line (CCL) has long restricted civilian access to areas within 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) south of the heavily fortified border in order to protect military facilities.

The CCL will be shrunk to an average of six kilometres starting 2027, Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told reporters in Seoul, increasing access for villagers and farmers, and visitors to the region.

Ordinary South Korean citizens require permission from the military to reside or farm in the area, and analysts say residents have long faced significant economic disadvantages.

The new measures aim to “enhance the convenience of local residents while ensuring the effectiveness of military operations”, said Ahn.

They would include a significant simplification of flight approval procedures for agricultural drones.

“We will enable regional development to the extent that it does not interfere with military operations, Ahn said.

Residents welcomed the move, saying it would allow freer farming activities in the area and boost development and tourism.

Kim Deok-hyeon, Mayor of Yeoncheon county near the inter-Korean border, said the measures would “significantly alleviate the inconvenience faced by local farmers.”

Councillor Park Heung-yeol of Ganghwa County told AFP that construction even on privately-owned land within the controlled area requires military approval.

This area will now be smaller.

“Local residents have long harboured complaints due to inconveniences regarding access procedures and the inability to exercise their property rights,” added Kim Seok-in, another county official.

The new measure would bring “significant advantages for regional development,” he added.

North Korea fired an unidentified projectile toward the sea off its ⁠east coast on Wednesday (April 8, 2026), South Korea’s military said, following a separate launch detected a day earlier as Pyongyang doused Seoul’s hopes of an easing in tensions.

South Korea’s military separately ‌said it had detected the launch of a suspected ballistic missile from the Pyongyang area in North Korea on Tuesday (April 7, 2026).

South Korean and ‌U.S. authorities were analysing the launch, it said.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap ‌news ⁠agency, citing military officials, the projectile launched on Tuesday flew eastward before ⁠showing signs of an abnormality in the early stage of flight and disappearing.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff is leaning towards the possibility that the object was a ballistic missile, ​in what could amount to a failure ‌after launch, Yonhap reported.

South Korea typically announces North Korean ballistic missile launches promptly, as such tests violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, while it tends to be more cautious when projectiles are believed to be conventional weapons ‌or cruise missiles.

North Korea rejects the UN ban and says it infringes ​its sovereign right to self-defence.

Hostile enemy

The disclosure of the latest launches came after a statement by a top North Korean official ⁠that made clear that Pyongyang saw no shift in its hostile stance toward Seoul despite hopes of a thaw in relations.

Jang Kum Chol, a senior official ‌at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, said the South was engaging in wishful thinking if it thought Pyongyang was ready to see Seoul as anything other than an enemy.

“The identity of the ROK, the enemy state most hostile to the DPRK, can never change with any words or conduct,” Mr. Jang was quoted as saying by state media KCNA late on Tuesday, using the formal acronyms for ‌the names of South and North Korea.

The comments came after North Korea said on ​Monday (April 6, 2026) it was “very fortunate and wise” for South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to convey regret to Pyongyang for drone ⁠incursions earlier this year.

Some in Seoul saw the statement as a rare act of conciliation ⁠from the nuclear-armed North after decades of hostility. The two nations remain technically at war after their 1950-1953 conflict ended in a truce.

But ‌Mr. Jang said the statement issued by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong amounted to a warning to Seoul, and ​dismissed interpretations that it reflected friendly intentions.