Bridge of No Return Located in the Joint Security Area ( JSA ) , the so - called " Bridge of No Return " crosses the Military Demarcation Line ( MDL ) between North Korea and South Korea . It was used for prisoner exchanges at the end of the Korean War in 1953 . The name originates from the claim that many war prisoners captured by the United States did not wish to return home . The prisoners were brought to the bridge and given the choice to remain in the country of their captivity or cross over to the other country . However , if they chose to cross the bridge , they would never be allowed to return . The last time the bridge was used for prisoner exchanges was in 1968 , when the crew of the USS " Pueblo " was released and ordered to cross into South Korea via the bridge . The bridge was actively used by the North Koreans up until the Axe Murder Incident in August 1976 , at which time the United Nations Command demanded that the Military Demarcation Line within the Joint Security Area be enforced and clearly marked . Within 72 hours , the North Koreans had built a new bridge on the northern half of the JSA and the Bridge of No Return was no longer used . The Military Demarcation Line runs through the middle of the bridge . At the end of either side of the bridge are guard houses of the respective countries . The North Korean building is called KPA # 4 while the United Nations Command ( UNC ) checkpoint was called CP # 3 ( it was abandoned in the mid - 1980s ) . CP # 3 , which is surrounded by trees , was only visible from one other UNC site during the winter months , OP # 5 ( now renamed to CP # 3 ) . The North ' s Korean People ' s Army ( KPA ) had made numerous attempts to grab UNC personnel from the old CP # 3 and drag them across the bridge into North Korean territory . Because of this proximity to North Korean territory , being surrounded on all access routes by North Korean checkpoints , and repeated attempts to kidnap the UNC personnel working there , CP # 3 was often referred to as " The Loneliest Outpost in the World " . As of 2003 , the bridge is considered in need of repair . According to a report on CNN , the US government has offered to fix the bridge or even replace it , but North Korea has denied permission . Ceremonies on the bridge . U . S . Army soldiers who are stationed at Camp Bonifas or Camp Liberty Bell in the Joint Security Area are offered the opportunity to have their promotion or reenlistment ceremonies held in the center of the Bridge of No Return . The bridge is split in half by the Military Demarcation Line which marks where North Korean territory ends and South Korean territory begins . During a U . S . or ROK ( Republic of Korea ) ceremony , two guards are posted at the Demarcation Line facing west ( toward North Korea ) . In popular culture . The bridge is also portrayed in the beginning of the James Bond film , " Die Another Day " , where the characters Bond and Zao are swapped ( though with rows of concertina wire , bunkers , machine guns , or spotlights not present at the real bridge ) . It was portrayed in the South Korean movie " Joint Security Area " , where the shooting of two North Korean guards becomes the focus of an investigation and of the movie , and the American movie " Salt " , when agent Evelyn Salt ( Angelina Jolie ) is traded for a captured North Korean official after being held captive in North Korea .