SEOUL - SOUTH Korea on Monday opened more land near its heavily fortified border with North Korea for civilian property development in spite of ongoing cross-border tensions.

The defence ministry in Seoul said the 15km-wide restricted area, which is south of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) along the border, has been reduced to 10km.

It said in a statement that the move, which took effect on Monday, aims to help people to exercise their property rights and to ease inconvenience for residents.

The new rules would not affect military operations and would better meet demand for more houses and factories, it said.

People living inside the restricted area have complained about limits on construction imposed for security reasons, such as not being allowed to construct new buildings or renovate their homes.

The two Koreas have remained technically at war since the 1950-1953 conflict ended only in an armistice. Despite its official name, the four-kilometre-wide DMZ is heavily fortified with minefields, barbed wire and tank traps.

Including the restricted area next to the DMZ, the ministry on Monday lifted curbs on a total of 21,200 hectares of land near army bases or other military facilities.

The move was in line with moves by President Lee Myung Bak's government to build more homes and factories. It also wants to ease restrictions on the development of 'green belt' areas around cities.

Environmentalists have protested the policy and criticised the defence ministry moves to ease rules on restricted military areas, which often overlap the 'green belt' regions. -- AFP