Bridge of No Return
Encyclopedia
Located in the Joint Security Area
(JSA), the so-called "Bridge of No Return" crosses the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) between North Korea
and South Korea
. It was used for prisoner exchanges at the end of the Korean War
in 1953. The name originates from the claim that many war prisoners captured by the United States did not wish to return home. The prisoners were brought to the bridge and given the choice to remain in the country of their captivity or cross over to the other country. But if they chose to cross the bridge, they would never be allowed to return.
The last time the bridge was used for prisoner exchanges was in 1968 when the crew of the USS Pueblo
was released and ordered to cross into South Korea via the bridge. The bridge was actively used by the North Koreans up until the Axe Murder Incident
in August 1976, at which time the United Nations Command
demanded that the Military Demarcation Line within the Joint Security Area be enforced and clearly marked. Within 72 hours the North Koreans had built a new bridge on the northern half of the JSA and the Bridge of No Return was no longer used.
The Military Demarcation Line
runs through the middle of the bridge. At the end of either side of the bridge are guard houses of the respective countries. The North Korean building is called KPA#4 while the United Nations Command (UNC) checkpoint was called CP#3 (it was abandoned in the mid-1980s). CP#3, which is surrounded by trees, was only visible from one other UNC site during the winter months, OP#5 (now renamed to CP#3). The North's Korean People's Army
(KPA) had made numerous attempts to grab UNC personnel from the old CP#3 and drag them across the bridge into North Korea
n territory. Because of this proximity to North Korean territory, being surrounded on all access routes by North Korean checkpoints, and repeated attempts to kidnap the UNC personnel working there, CP#3 was often referred to as "The Loneliest Outpost in the World". As of 2003, the bridge is considered in need of repair. According to a report on CNN, the US government has offered to fix the bridge or even replace it, but North Korea has denied permission.
The bridge is also portrayed in the beginning of the James Bond
film, Die Another Day
, where Bond and Zao are swapped (however, as the photos show, there are no rows of concertina wire
, bunkers, machine guns, or spotlights anywhere around the bridge, as depicted in the movie). It was portrayed in the South Korean movie Joint Security Area
, where the shooting of two North Korean guards becomes the focus of an investigation and of the movie. It was most recently depicted in the movie Salt when agent Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie
) is traded for a captured North Korean official after being a held captive in North Korea.
or Camp Liberty Bell in the Joint Security Area
are offered the opportunity to have their promotion or reenlistment ceremonies held in the center of the Bridge of No Return. The bridge is split in half by the Military Demarcation Line which marks where North Korean territory ends and South Korean territory begins. During a U.S. or ROK (Republic of Korea) ceremony, two guards are posted at the Demarcation Line facing west (toward North Korea).
Joint Security Area
The Joint Security Area is the only portion of the Korean Demilitarized Zone where South and North Korean forces stand face-to-face. It is often called the "Truce Village" in both the media and various military accounts...
(JSA), the so-called "Bridge of No Return" crosses the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) between North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. It was used for prisoner exchanges at the end of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
in 1953. The name originates from the claim that many war prisoners captured by the United States did not wish to return home. The prisoners were brought to the bridge and given the choice to remain in the country of their captivity or cross over to the other country. But if they chose to cross the bridge, they would never be allowed to return.
The last time the bridge was used for prisoner exchanges was in 1968 when the crew of the USS Pueblo
USS Pueblo (AGER-2)
USS Pueblo is an American ELINT and SIGINT Banner-class technical research ship which was boarded and captured by North Korean forces on January 23, 1968, in what is known as the Pueblo incident or alternatively as the Pueblo crisis or the Pueblo affair. Occurring less than a week after President...
was released and ordered to cross into South Korea via the bridge. The bridge was actively used by the North Koreans up until the Axe Murder Incident
Axe Murder Incident
The axe murder incident was the killing of two United States Army officers by North Korean soldiers on August 18, 1976, in the Joint Security Area located in the Korean Demilitarized Zone which forms the de facto border between North and South Korea...
in August 1976, at which time the United Nations Command
United Nations Command (Korea)
The United Nations Command is the unified command structure for the multinational military forces supporting the Republic of Korea during and after the Korean War...
demanded that the Military Demarcation Line within the Joint Security Area be enforced and clearly marked. Within 72 hours the North Koreans had built a new bridge on the northern half of the JSA and the Bridge of No Return was no longer used.
The Military Demarcation Line
Military Demarcation Line (Korea)
The Military Demarcation Line , sometimes referred to as the Armistice Line, is the land border or demarcation line between North Korea and South Korea. On either side of the line is the Korean Demilitarized Zone...
runs through the middle of the bridge. At the end of either side of the bridge are guard houses of the respective countries. The North Korean building is called KPA#4 while the United Nations Command (UNC) checkpoint was called CP#3 (it was abandoned in the mid-1980s). CP#3, which is surrounded by trees, was only visible from one other UNC site during the winter months, OP#5 (now renamed to CP#3). The North's Korean People's Army
Korean People's Army
The Korean People's Army , also known as the Inmin Gun, are the military forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim Jong-il is the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and Chairman of the National Defence Commission...
(KPA) had made numerous attempts to grab UNC personnel from the old CP#3 and drag them across the bridge into North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n territory. Because of this proximity to North Korean territory, being surrounded on all access routes by North Korean checkpoints, and repeated attempts to kidnap the UNC personnel working there, CP#3 was often referred to as "The Loneliest Outpost in the World". As of 2003, the bridge is considered in need of repair. According to a report on CNN, the US government has offered to fix the bridge or even replace it, but North Korea has denied permission.
The bridge is also portrayed in the beginning of the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film, Die Another Day
Die Another Day
Die Another Day is the 20th spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond; it is also the last Bond film of the original timeline with the series being rebooted with Casino Royale...
, where Bond and Zao are swapped (however, as the photos show, there are no rows of concertina wire
Concertina wire
Concertina wire or Dannert Wire is a type of barbed wire or razor wire that is formed in large coils which can be expanded like a concertina. In conjunction with plain barbed wire and steel pickets, it is used to form military wire obstacles....
, bunkers, machine guns, or spotlights anywhere around the bridge, as depicted in the movie). It was portrayed in the South Korean movie Joint Security Area
Joint Security Area (film)
Joint Security Area is a 2000 South Korean film starring Lee Young Ae, Lee Byung-hun and Song Kang-ho. It was directed by Park Chan-wook and is based on the novel DMZ by Park Sang-yeon...
, where the shooting of two North Korean guards becomes the focus of an investigation and of the movie. It was most recently depicted in the movie Salt when agent Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
) is traded for a captured North Korean official after being a held captive in North Korea.
Major events
- Operation Little Switch, April 1953
- This operation was a test case for prisoner repatriation, one of the four main issues of contention during two years of negotiation. 605 sick, wounded, and/or injured UNC prisoners were exchanged for 6,030 sick or injured Communist prisoners.
- Operation Big SwitchOperation Big SwitchOperation Big Switch was the repatriation of all remaining prisoners of the Korean War. Ceasefire talks had been going on between Communist and UN forces since 1951, with one of the main stumbling blocks being the Communist insistence that all prisoners be returned home, with the UN insisting that...
, April-September 1953
- Based on the success of the repatriations undertaken earlier, a general exchange of prisoners began in late April. During Operation Big Switch, prisoners were brought to Panmunjom, on the banks of the Sachong River. Each prisoner was then asked if he wished to cross the river and return to his countrymen or remain with his captors. Once the choice was made there was no turning back—hence the name Bridge of No Return. During this time 13,444 UNC prisoners returned to UNC countries, and 89,493 KPA and CPVPeople's Volunteer ArmyThe Chinese People's Volunteer Army was the armed forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army belonged to the People's Liberation Army , the People's Volunteer Army was separately constituted in order to...
prisoners returned to their countries. In March, 1953, a further 25,000 KPA soldiers held in ROKA camps had been released into South Korea on President Syngman RheeSyngman RheeSyngman Rhee or Yi Seungman was the first president of South Korea. His presidency, from August 1948 to April 1960, remains controversial, affected by Cold War tensions on the Korean peninsula and elsewhere. Rhee was regarded as an anti-Communist and a strongman, and he led South Korea through the...
's orders in an attempt to wreck the armistice negotiations.
- Release of the crew of the USS PuebloUSS Pueblo (AGER-2)USS Pueblo is an American ELINT and SIGINT Banner-class technical research ship which was boarded and captured by North Korean forces on January 23, 1968, in what is known as the Pueblo incident or alternatively as the Pueblo crisis or the Pueblo affair. Occurring less than a week after President...
, December 23, 1968
- On January 23, 1968, the USS Pueblo was captured by North Korean naval forces in international waters off the coast of North Korea. After being held prisoner for 11 months, the crew was released and allowed to walk across the Bridge while a forced confession by the Captain of the vessel was broadcast over loudspeakers. This action was the first in a series of events that escalated tensions between North Korea and the United States and its allies.
- Axe Murder IncidentAxe Murder IncidentThe axe murder incident was the killing of two United States Army officers by North Korean soldiers on August 18, 1976, in the Joint Security Area located in the Korean Demilitarized Zone which forms the de facto border between North and South Korea...
, August 18, 1976
- This was the killing of two United States Army officers by North Korean soldiers in the Joint Security Area, near the Bridge of No Return, over the attempt to trim a poplar that obstructed vision between checkpoints, and heightened tensions on the border - this was followed by Operation Paul Bunyan, which ended in the felling of the tree by ‘Task Force Vierra’.
Ceremonies on the bridge
U.S. Army soldiers who are stationed at Camp BonifasCamp Bonifas
Camp Bonifas is a United Nations Command military post located 400 meters south of the southern boundary of the Korean Demilitarized Zone. It is 2400 meters south of the military demarcation line and lies within the Joint Security Area , also known as Panmunjom...
or Camp Liberty Bell in the Joint Security Area
Joint Security Area
The Joint Security Area is the only portion of the Korean Demilitarized Zone where South and North Korean forces stand face-to-face. It is often called the "Truce Village" in both the media and various military accounts...
are offered the opportunity to have their promotion or reenlistment ceremonies held in the center of the Bridge of No Return. The bridge is split in half by the Military Demarcation Line which marks where North Korean territory ends and South Korean territory begins. During a U.S. or ROK (Republic of Korea) ceremony, two guards are posted at the Demarcation Line facing west (toward North Korea).
See also
- Axe Murder IncidentAxe Murder IncidentThe axe murder incident was the killing of two United States Army officers by North Korean soldiers on August 18, 1976, in the Joint Security Area located in the Korean Demilitarized Zone which forms the de facto border between North and South Korea...
- Division of KoreaDivision of KoreaThe division of Korea into North Korea and South Korea stems from the 1945 Allied victory in World War II, ending Japan's 35-year colonial rule of Korea. In a proposal opposed by nearly all Koreans, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily occupy the country as a trusteeship...
- Korean Demilitarized ZoneKorean Demilitarized ZoneThe Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and...
- Joint Security AreaJoint Security AreaThe Joint Security Area is the only portion of the Korean Demilitarized Zone where South and North Korean forces stand face-to-face. It is often called the "Truce Village" in both the media and various military accounts...
- List of Korea-related topics
External links
- Pictures
- lifeinkorea.com (3 pictures)
- Michael J Downey's song and video "Bridge of No Return" (2006) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7304116043133522519