In Korean DMZ, Wildlife Thrives. Some Conservationists Worry Peace Could Disrupt It
The heavily fortified no-man's land separating North and South Korea, largely untouched by humans, has become an ecological niche for the region's flora and fauna, including endangered species.
The quiet of the late-winter morning is interrupted by a staccato of gunshots.
"Military drills," shrugs Kim Seung-ho, 58, the director of the DMZ Ecology Research Institute, a nonprofit organization that does research on the wildlife in the demilitarized zone, or DMZ — the border area between North and South Korea. A thick blanket of fog seeps over the forested hills on this late-winter morning as Kim stands, searching the horizon for birds, on the bank of the Imjin River just north of Paju, South Korea.
This morning, Kim and the institute's intern Pyo Gina, 24, are on their weekly trip to count birds just outside the DMZ, a 155-mile long, 2.5-mile wide strip of land that has been virtually untouched by
