UNC to repair defects found on aircraft warning markers near DMZ

All News 15:36 May 22, 2020

SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- The U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) said Friday it has found defects on warning markers set up near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating South and North Korea to prevent pilots from accidentally crossing into the North's airspace.

After inspecting the red Aircraft Warning Panel Markers near the southern limit line of the DMZ, the UNC found "several deficiencies" and will now work with South Korea to restore them, it said.

The UNC administers the buffer zone and enforces the Armistice Agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.

"These 877 markers across the Peninsula serve as visual aids to aircrew so they do not mistakenly fly into the #DMZ & #DPRK," the command said in a Facebook post, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "Among our #Armistice-related functions is ensuring measures are in place to prevent incidents, whether intentional or accidental."

Last year, a civilian aircraft accidentally crossed the border into North Korea after failing to observe the marks along the southern boundary, according to the UNC.