D-8: Moon-Kim summit prep 'almost done'
Peace House / Korea Times photo by Park Si-soo
By Park Si-soo
PANMUNJEOM ― The historic April 27 inter-Korean summit is just around the corner. And the renovation of Peace House _ the venue for the meeting on the southern side of Panmunjeom, also called the Joint Security Area (JSA), inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that bisects the two Koreas _ is coming to a close.
If the political showdown takes place as planned, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will cross the military demarcation line (MDL) in the JSA on the morning of April 27 _ walking or by car _ to the building and sit at a negotiation table with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in. If that happens, Kim will be the first leader of the isolated state to visit his southern rival since the end of the Korean War.
Renovations started early March, aimed at offering Kim the best meeting conditions in terms of security, communication and protocol. The two previous inter-Korean summits _ in 2000 and 2007 _ were in the North's capital Pyongyang.
Seoul doesn't want this summit to be a one-off, but the first in a series aimed at ushering in permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.
When this reporter visited the JSA on Wednesday, the ivory-colored three-story Peace House was undergoing last-minute renovations. It was off-limits to unauthorized people, its main entrance sealed with plywood, its windows shut. Armed soldiers kept visiting reporters at bay. Photos were allowed _ but only from a distance and from designated angles. What's going on inside the building was kept secret.
Peace House's main entrance is sealed with plywood on Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Park Si-soo
“I have nothing to tell you,” a sunglasses-wearing military policeman said bluntly when asked about the work. A spokesman from the United Nations Command also refused to answer.
Instead, the spokesman gave a briefing on the function of each floor during the summit. A meeting table will be set up on the second floor and the third floor will be reserved for a possible post-summit banquet for the two leaders. He didn't give further details.
“It (renovation) has continued for a long time,” the spokesman said, asking not to be named. “Almost done.”
When the renovation is done, a North Korean delegation will inspect the building and discuss security and protocol issues with South Korean officials. A rehearsal for the summit is also planned.
South Korea is playing its role to make the summit a success. Live TV broadcasting of parts of the meeting is one of the ideas the two Koreas agreed on in the latest working-level talks at the JSA on Wednesday. Seoul's presidential office said live coverage will include “important moments such as when the leaders meet for the first time.” It didn't specify other parts of the meeting that will be broadcast live.
For live broadcasting from the JSA, the military plans to lift electronic jamming in the area during the summit.
Armed soldiers stand guard at the Joint Security Area of Panmunjeom in the demilitarized zone, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Park Si-soo
Panmunjeom, 52 kilometers north of Seoul, is where the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War was signed. The two Koreas remain technically at war as the conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
The presidential office said Wednesday talks are underway to replace the 1953 armistice agreement with a peace treaty during the inter-Korean summit and the following one between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The two sides used Panmunjeom for the first time as the venue for talks in August 1971 when Red Cross societies had their first contact.