On November 1, 2018, officials from the South Korean Ministry of Defense confirmed that buffer zones were established across the DMZ by the North and South Korean militaries to ensure that both militaries would keep their distance from the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). In compliance with the Comprehensive Military Agreement which was signed at the September 2018 inter-Korean summit, the buffer zones help ensure that both Koreas will ban hostility on land, air and sea. The buffer zones stretch from the north of Deokjeok Island to the south of Cho Island in the West Sea and the north of Sokcho city and south of Tongchon County in the East (Yellow) Sea. Both North and South Korea are prohibited from conducting live-fire artillery drills and regiment-level field maneuvering exercises or those by bigger units within 5 kilometers of the MDL.