does not follow the 38th parallel north, which was the border before the Korean War. It crosses the parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and the east end lying north of it.

The DMZ is 250 km long, approximately 4 km wide. Though the zone itself is demilitarized, the zone's borders on both sides are some of the most heavily militarized borders in the world. The Northern Limit Line,