The U.N. Command (UNC) said Tuesday that recent North Korean construction inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) does not violate the 1953 Korean War Armistice Agreement, saying the projects remain on the northern side of the border and have not altered the military balance in the buffer zone.

In a fact sheet, the U.S.-led command said the DPRK’s fencing, road repairs and the “defensive” emplacement of landmines are permissible under the armistice framework as long as they remain north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and do not involve the introduction of heavy weapons or offensive military capabilities.

The assessment