I visited the DMZ in the summer of 2013 and the militarization was astonishing. Beyond the military checkpoints, soldiers everywhere, secret tunnels dug from th

I visited the DMZ in the summer of 2013 and the militarization was astonishing. Beyond the military checkpoints, soldiers everywhere, secret tunnels dug from the north into the south, and relics of past failed relationships such as a bullet riddled locomotive, the signs along every non-paved spot of earth warning "DANGER MINES" and the overpasses rigged to detonate and drop immense concrete blocks onto the roadways (to prevent passage by invading tanks) really brought home the feeling that the two states were still at war. Not to mention having to sign a hefty waiver to visit the Joint Security Area for any injury or death that we could incur if North Korea decided to attack us while on the tour. We also had a surprise at the Joint Security Area when a tour of several dozen military officers on the north side appeared and stared back at us while we took photos of them and a semi-hidden photographer on the north took photos of all of us tourists to potentially use as propaganda.