The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone, abbreviated as V-DMZ, was a demilitarized zone at the 17th parallel in Quảng Trị province that was the dividing line between North Vietnam and South Vietnam from 21 July 1954 to 2 July 1976, when Vietnam was officially divided into two de facto countries, which was two de jure military gathering areas supposed to be sustained in the short term after the First Indochina War.