Swiss-Swede NNSC Area
The Swiss-Swede Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission Area is one of the forty-two camps north of Seoul authorized Hardship Duty Pay of $150 per month as of 01 January 2001. The Hardship Duty Pay is paid to troops who are permanently assigned to areas where it is authorized or who serve 30 consecutive days of temporary duty in those areas. Several factors are considered in determining whether a location qualified for the pay: climate, physical and social isolation, sanitation, disease, medical facilities, housing, food, recreational and community facilities, political violence, harassment and crime. The extra pay provides meaningful financial recognition to troops assigned in areas where living conditions are substantially below US standards.

The 1953 Armistice established the NNSC as an independent, fact-finding body outside the authority of, but reporting to, the Military Armistice Commission. Originally it was composed of senior officers from four nations -- which did not have combatant forces in the Korean War -- two of whom are selected by each side. Sweden and Switzerland were nominated by the United Nations Command; Czechoslovakia and Poland by the KPA/CPV. The Czech component was forced out by the DPRK early in 1993. The Polish component was forced out by the DPRK early in 1995. The NNSC members are assisted by administrative personnel from their own countries. Camps for the Swedish and Swiss members and their staffs are located in the southern half of the DMZ adjacent to the JSA. The former Polish and Czech camps which were located nearby on the north Korean side of the MDL, have been taken over by the KPA and are now used for other purposes.

Poland, Sweden and Switzerland serve on the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission in Korea (NNSC). Poland, Sweden and Switzerland have been involved in the Korean peace process since 1953, through their membership in the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC), which was established on the basis of the Armistice Agreement in Korea on July 27, 1953, to supervise the Korean armistice. The NNSC still has a useful role to play. At present the NNSCs ability to fulfill its mandate is limited.