SEOUL, June 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Civilians in South Korea will be able to get several kilometres nearer to North Korea under new rules broadening public access to the highly militarised border zone, Seoul's defence ministry said on Wednesday.

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, Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told reporters in Seoul, increasing access for villagers and farmers, and visitors to the region.

The new measures aim to "enhance the convenience of local residents while ensuring the effectiveness of military operations", Ahn added.

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.

South Korea removed loudspeakers last year that were used to blast K-pop and news broadcasts into the North, as the dovish government of Lee Jae Myung sought to ease tensions with its diplomatically isolated, nuclear-armed neighbour.

Under his hawkish predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, Pyongyang transmitted bizarre and unsettling noises across the border that became a major nuisance for residents in nearby South Korean regions.