FACTBOX: The DMZ dividing the rival Koreas

Mon Nov 9, 2009 2:05am EST

SEOUL (Reuters) - The Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that divides the Korean peninsula has been a no man's land for more than 50 years. Following are key facts about the DMZ.

LOCATION AND SIZE

The DMZ stretches across the middle of the Korean peninsula and is about 245 km (150 miles) long and 4 km (2.5 miles) wide. It was established as part of the armistice that brought an end to the 1950-1953 Korean War. It covers an area of 992 sq km (383 sq mile) -- about the same size as Hong Kong -- and comprises mountainous regions as well as prairies, marshlands and forests.

MILITARY

North and South Korea have more than 1 million troops near their sides of the DMZ and line the buffer with razor wire, heavy armaments and tank traps. Almost the entire area within the DMZ has been off-limits to soldiers and people for over 50 years. The United States has about 28,000 troops in the South.

The North has thousands of artillery pieces near its side of the DMZ that could fire an estimated 500,000 shells an hour into the Seoul area, about 35-60 km (20-37 miles) away and home to half of the South's 49 million people.

CROSSINGS

There are two main crossing points with road and rail links built by the South. One is on the west coast to support a joint factory park in the North Korean border city of Kaesong and the other on the east coast for the Mount Kumgang resort in the North built by an affiliate of the South's Hyundai Group.

It is rare for anyone to cross the heavily armed land border, with defections limited to isolated cases every few years. Most defectors from North Korea travel through China.

BIODIVERSITY

Environmentalists estimate there are about 2,900 different plant species, about 70 different types of mammals and 320 different types of birds in the DMZ.

The DMZ is home to several endangered and rare species including the red-crown crane and the white-naped crane. It has become a resting place for migratory birds from Siberia, Australia, Japan and Manchuria.

CONSERVATION

South Korea has considered working with North Korea to have the DMZ designated a UNESCO Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, which would eventually make the area a nature sanctuary.

(Sources: South Korean and local government reports)

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner and Dean Yates)