What is the demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea called?

The demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea is called the Korean Demilitarized Zone, or Korean DMZ.

The zone was established under the Korean Armistice Agreement, signed on 27 July 1953 after the Korean War. Each side moved its forces approximately 2 kilometres back from the front line, creating a buffer zone about 4 kilometres wide and roughly 250 kilometres long across the Korean Peninsula.

Despite its name, the DMZ is not an unguarded or peaceful frontier. Both sides maintain heavily fortified positions around it, and the area remains one of the world’s most militarized borders. The Military Demarcation Line runs through the center of the zone and marks the effective boundary between the two Koreas.

A common mix-up is the 38th Parallel. That line of latitude was used as the initial division between the Soviet and American occupation zones after World War II, but the modern DMZ does not precisely follow it. The Joint Security Area at Panmunjom, where negotiations and meetings have taken place, lies within the DMZ.