The Korean Demilitarized Zone, also known as the Korean DMZ or simply the DMZ, is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula which intersects the 38th parallel north. The DMZ is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in half. It was established to serve as a demilitarized zone between the sovereign states of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea under the provisions of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953, an agreement between North Korea, China, and the United Nations Command.