Korea, South
Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide
Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953;
periodic incidents with North Korea in the Yellow Sea over the
Northern Limit Line, which South Korea claims as a maritime
boundary; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks
(Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954
Kosovo
Serbia with several other states protest the US and other
states' recognition of Kosovo's declaring itself as a sovereign and
independent state in February 2008; ethnic Serbian municipalities
along Kosovo's northern border challenge final status of
Kosovo-Serbia boundary; several thousand NATO-led KFOR peacekeepers
under UNMIK authority continue to keep the peace within Kosovo
between the ethnic Albanian majority and the Serb minority in
Kosovo; Kosovo and Macedonia completed demarcation of their boundary
in September 2008
Kuwait
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime
boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the
Persian Gulf
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan has yet to ratify the 2001 boundary
delimitation with Kazakhstan; disputes in Isfara Valley delay
completion of delimitation with Tajikistan; delimitation of 130 km
of border with Uzbekistan is hampered by serious disputes around
enclaves and other areas
Laos
Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to
check the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion of
demarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over islands in the
Mekong River; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's
construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels
Latvia
Russia demands better Latvian treatment of ethnic Russians in
Latvia; as of January 2007, ground demarcation of the boundary with
Belarus was complete and mapped with final ratification
documentation in preparation; the Latvian parliament has not
ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily
due to concerns over oil exploration rights; as a member state that
forms part of the EU's external border, Latvia has implemented the
strict Schengen border rules with Russia
Lebanon
lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the
boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with
several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a
Farms area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly
2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place
since 1978
Lesotho
none
Liberia
although civil unrest continues to abate with the assistance
of 18,000 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeepers, as of January
2007, Liberian refugees still remain in Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire,
Sierra Leone, and Ghana; Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeing
turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire; despite the presence of over 9,000 UN
forces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnic conflict
continues to spread into neighboring states who can no longer send
their migrant workers to Ivorian cocoa plantations; UN sanctions ban
Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber
Libya
Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern
Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in the Tommo region of Niger in a
currently dormant dispute; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou
region reside in southern Libya