Third Tunnel of Aggression
The Third Tunnel of Aggression (Korean: 제3땅굴; Third Infiltration Tunnel or 3rd Tunnel) is one of four known tunnels under the border between North Korea and South Korea, extending south of Panmunjom.
Background
Only 44 km (27 miles) from Seoul, the incomplete tunnel was discovered in October 1978 following the detection of an underground explosion in June 1978, apparently caused by the tunnellers who had progressed 435 metres (1,427 feet) under the south side of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). It took four months to locate the tunnel precisely and dig an intercept tunnel.[1][2]
The incomplete tunnel is 1,635 metres (1.0 mile) long, 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) at its maximum height and 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) wide.
Initially, North Korea denied building the tunnel.
A total of four tunnels have been discovered so far, but there are believed to be up to twenty more.
Tourist site
The tunnel is now a tourist site, though still well guarded.[9]
Visitors enter either by walking down a long steep incline that starts in a lobby with a gift shop or via a
See also
- North Korean infiltration tunnels
- Korean People's Army
- List of tunnels in North Korea
References
- ^ a b J. F. Vesecky; W. A. Nierenberg; A. M. Despain (April 1980). Tunnel Detection (PDF). SRI International (JASON Technical Report) (Report). Federation of American Scientists. JSR-79-11.
- ^ Korean Overseas Information Service. October 1978. Archived from the original(PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^ Moore, Malcolm (May 26, 2009). "Inside North Korea's Third Tunnel of Aggression". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 July 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-8476-9895-0.
- ISBN 978-0-02-864366-3.
- ^ Armstrong, David (June 3, 2007). "SEOUL lives life on the edge / Just 35 miles from the border with North Korea, the city crackles with a newfound sense of style". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ "Korea Demilitarized Zone Incidents". GlobalSecurity.org.
- ^ Lucy Williamson (23 August 2012). "Hunt for North Korea's 'hidden tunnels'". BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^ "Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) Tours". Korea Tourism Organization. 14 September 2015. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^ "If you spend 10,000 won, you can trip security tourism". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ "Foreigners who found DMZ". JTBC News (in Korean). 2018-04-30. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ "Paju DMZ_Third tunnel" (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-05-11.
External links
- Secret Tunnel Under Panmunjom (PDF) (Report). Korean Overseas Information Service. October 1978. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-02.