--- title: Korea Border Photos: Scenes From a DMZ Dispute in 1960 description: LIFE photographer John Dominis captured these moments from a dispute at the DMZ, showing that armistice had not brought peace to Korea. canonical: https://time.com/4813148/north-korean-border-1960/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-23T13:00:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:20.381Z og:title: Korea Border Photos: Scenes From a DMZ Dispute in 1960 og:description: Armistice had not brought peace to Korea og:url: https://time.com/4813148/north-korean-border-1960/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f1ad4de021843dd/6988d1150a4a22a0589ce8f7/korea-dmz-1960-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Korea DMZ 1960 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Korea Border Photos: Scenes From a DMZ Dispute in 1960 twitter:description: Armistice had not brought peace to Korea twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f1ad4de021843dd/6988d1150a4a22a0589ce8f7/korea-dmz-1960-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scenes From a Dispute at the Korean Border by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Jun 23, 2017 1:00 PM UTC  Soldiers meeting of Joint Observe team at demarkation line, Korea, 1960. Soldiers meeting of Joint Observe team at demarkation line, Korea, 1960.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Jun 23, 2017 1:00 PM UTC When the Korean War [began](http://time.com/3915803/korean-war-1950-history/) on June 25, 1950 — exactly 67 years ago this weekend — it sparked a conflict that would simmer long after the war officially ended in [armistice](http://time.com/vault/issue/1953-08-03/page/22/) in 1953\. That long-running tension was the subject of [a 1960 examination by LIFE magazine](https://books.google.com/books?id=7E4EAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false) on the 10th anniversary of the war’s onset, which captured one of the “endless series of small but meaningful disputes” along the North-South border in the photographs seen here. As the article explained, a demilitarized zone (DMZ) of 4,300 yards separated the Communist forces in the North from the U.N. forces in the South, with strict regulations governing what could be allowed inside the buffer area. In this particular instance, U.N. forces had noted “North Korean troops building a suspicious-looking concrete fortress inside the DMZ” and, after a meeting was called to discuss the matter, American representatives were asked to figure out what it was. The North Korean forces refused to allow inspection of the structure, going so far as to hold objects in front of the sight-lines of Americans’ binoculars. After about an hour of “wrangling,” the photographer reported, the two sides went their separate ways, adding one more item to the list of “unresolved issues” at the border. Today, nearly seven decades after the DMZ was established, that infamous buffer zone still exists and [remains](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/21/north-korea-south-korea-dmz-landmines) one of the world’s [tensest](http://time.com/4766618/moon-jae-in-the-negotiator/) borders.  Soldiers meeting of Joint Observe team at demarkation line, Korea, 1960. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  North Korean soldier accompanying Communist members of Military Armistice Commission at treaty-violation meeting, 1960. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Outtake from Korea DMZ photo essay, 1960. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Argument begins as U.S. Lieut. Colonel Jeffrey Smith points over barbed-wire boundry and tells North Koreans (right) he wants to see building. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Protesting inspection. Korean (at right) stretches arm over wire in an attempt to prevent U.S. sergeant from using artillery spotting glasses to get better look at disputed structure. "Tell him to pull his arm back," Colonel Smith told North Korean commanding officer, "or we'll cut it off." John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Blocking view of Americans, a North Korean sergeant raises his cap over binoculars as a U.S. major (right) steadies platform against Red shoving. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Grabbing American. North Korean commander reaches across wire to pull down Colonel Smith's arm as he tries to take look at fortification with his own field glasses. Koreans had claimed building was only a shelter for their troops against weather, that slit windows were not for guns but for ventilation. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Telling off Korean. Colonel Smith points fingers at Communist lieutenant colonel in charge of red team says, "If you touch me again, I'll slug you." At right, surrounding their commander, is staff of North Korean officiers. At left, peering over Colonel Smith's shoulder are two South Korean observers. After an hour of wrangling, the meeting broke up and the violation was added to other unresolved issues awaiting settlement by armistice commission at Panmunjom. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Outtake from Korea DMZ photo essay, 1960. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Outtake from Korea DMZ photo essay, 1960. 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