The government is to conduct a land survey of the southern part of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) as part of a plan to designate the area as a special zone for environmental protection.

The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs will consult with the ministries of defense and environment later this month to decide on the timetable and method for the cadastral survey.

The government is also preparing for possible ownership disputes that may arise regarding the southern side of the DMZ.

Two options are under consideration One calls for recognizing ownership for plots with confirmed owners, while decreeing as state property any land that fails to establish its private ownership. The other option is to enact a special legislation that would nationalize the entire four-hundred-50 square kilometer buffer zone along the inter-Korean border.

The no-man's-land is known to be home to more than 25-hundred rare or endangered fauna and flora species.