Korean DMZ veterans and Agent Orange: a claim map

The claim map

A claim map follows one veteran's route: where they served, the conditions VA presumes for that service, and the conditions that follow from them. Each box shows how the Board ruled at that step.

Where they served

Korean DMZ

Service from September 1967 to August 1971 in a unit the Department of Defense lists as operating in or near the DMZ

2,577 Board decisions that name the Korean DMZ

presumed by law38 CFR 3.307(a)(6)(iv)

Step 1 · presumed by law

Herbicide-list conditions

42.8% granted

680 of 1,587 veterans · all herbicide-list conditions claims 25.6%

secondary38 CFR 3.310(a)

Step 2 · claimed secondary to herbicide-list conditions

73.9%granted when the same decision granted the herbicide-list conditions

0.0%granted when it did not

Step 2 depends on step 1: a secondary claim needs a service-connected condition to attach to.

• Nerve damage, legs DC 8520

  39.3% · 55 of 140

  all veterans 36.0%Presumed on its own only if early-onset

• Nerve damage, arms DC 8513

  26.7% · 24 of 90

  all veterans 29.7%

• Erectile dysfunction DC 7522

  44.9% · 40 of 89

  all veterans 33.5%→ may open special monthly compensation

Bar: share granted in Board decisions that name the Korean DMZ (one count per veteran; a remand counts as not granted). Red mark: all veterans with the same claim. Step 2 counts claims decided in the same decision; conditions with at least 15 veterans.

Is Agent Orange exposure presumed for service near the Korean DMZ?

Yes, for service from September 1967 to August 1971 in a unit that the Department of Defense found operated in or near the DMZ where herbicides were applied (38 CFR 3.307(a)(6)(iv); M21-1 VIII.i.1.B.4). In decisions that name the DMZ, the Board granted 42.8% of the herbicide-list claims, against 25.6% for all veterans.

The presumption covers the exposure. The condition itself has to be on the herbicide list in 38 CFR 3.309(e) or 38 U.S.C. 1116, which since the PACT Act includes hypertension. 2,577 Board decisions from 2020 to 2025 name the Korean DMZ.

Decisions that name the Korean DMZAll veterans

Prostate, bladder or kidney cancer

47.0%

34.0%

Parkinson's disease

48.0%

38.3%

Coronary artery disease

45.7%

35.4%

Diabetes

39.7%

24.0%

Hypertension

33.4%

18.9%

Share of decided claims granted; a remand counts as not granted. One count per veteran. Service-connection claims only.

Condition	Granted	Veterans	Share	All veterans
Diabetes	314	790	39.7%	24.0%
Hypertension	151	452	33.4%	18.9%
Coronary artery disease	182	398	45.7%	35.4%
Prostate, bladder or kidney cancer	162	345	47.0%	34.0%
Parkinson's disease	49	102	48.0%	38.3%

Every condition did better than for veterans overall. Diabetes is the most common claim; prostate, bladder and kidney cancer and Parkinson's disease were granted most often.

Which service in Korea qualifies?

Only service in one of the units on the Department of Defense list, during those dates. The start date moved from April 1968 to September 1967 when the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act took effect in 2020. Service elsewhere in Korea, or after August 1971, does not carry the presumption.

The unit list is in M21-1 VIII.i.1.B.4. A veteran who served in Korea but not in a listed unit can still claim the exposure as a fact, with records of where the unit was and what the duties were.

Why are Korean DMZ claims denied?

For 403 denials of herbicide-list conditions, the Board's note named the exposure in 78.9% of them and a medical link in 60.8%. In the two denials below, the unit or the dates of service did not qualify.

Did these veterans win on Vietnam service instead?

Rarely. Of 680 decisions that granted a herbicide-list condition, 56 also name Vietnam, Thailand or another place with its own presumption. Most DMZ grants rest on the Korea service itself.

What follows from these conditions

Under 38 CFR 3.310(a), a condition caused by a service-connected one is service connected too. In the same decisions, 319 veterans had a claim secondary to a herbicide-list condition, most often nerve damage or erectile dysfunction.

Claimed secondary to the first condition	Granted	Veterans	Share	All veterans
Nerve damage, legs	55	140	39.3%	36.0%
Nerve damage, arms	24	90	26.7%	29.7%
Erectile dysfunction	40	89	44.9%	33.5%

Does the first condition have to be granted before the secondary ones?

In practice, yes. When the same decision granted the herbicide-list condition, the Board granted 173 of 234 claims secondary to it (73.9%); when it did not, 0 of 248.

Where the first condition was not on appeal, usually because it was already service connected, 31.0% of the secondary claims were granted.

Read the decisions

Recent decisions, with the Board's reasoning as summarized by AI:

• A25110298, December 2025: hypertension granted on the herbicide presumption for service in the Korean DMZ.
• A25108345, December 2025: diabetes granted on the presumption, for service in Korea near the DMZ.
• A25105601, December 2025: hypertension denied; the service in Korea was in December 1971, after the presumptive period, and the unit did not operate near the DMZ.
• A25102642, November 2025: hypertension denied; the Board found no evidence of herbicide use at Camp Casey or that the unit operated near the DMZ.

What the data cannot tell you

The DMZ group comes from the places each decision names; a mention is not proof of service in a listed unit or during the dates. Service-connection claims only; rating appeals are left out. The second step counts only claims decided in the same decision. Denial notes are AI-extracted. These are historical outcomes, not predictions.

For representatives

• Settle the unit and the dates first: they decide the presumption.
• If the unit is not on the list, build the exposure as a fact from unit records and the veteran's duties.
• Claim hypertension on the presumption too; it has been on the herbicide list since the PACT Act.
• Once diabetes is service connected, screen for nerve damage in the legs and arms and for erectile dysfunction.