NK unlikely to broadcast summit live

By Park Ji-won

While the rest of the world will watch today's inter-Korean summit live on TV, people in North Korea are unlikely to see it real time.

North Koreans may watch an edited version of the summit that highlights its leader as North Korea rarely airs live broadcasts.

“North Korea never broadcasts important national events live,” Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told reporters.

“Even for the most significant events like military parades to mark the anniversary of the founding of the North Korean army, North Korea's state-run television did not broadcast it live.”

North Korea has agreed to a live broadcast by South Korean media of key parts of the summit, including the first moment when the leaders of two Koreas meet, scheduled for 9:30 a.m., as well as coverage by South Korean reporters on the North side of the Joint Security Area, Cheong Wa Dae said last week.

South Korean media will air the opening part of the historic summit live. South Korean broadcasting companies SBS, KBS and MBC are planning to start a live broadcast from 8 a.m.

CNN is also expected to air a special live program for the summit from April 26 to 27. In both 2000 and 2007, when the first and second inter-Korean summits were held, foreign media were not allowed to cover the summit at the scene.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will first meet at the Military Demarcation Line that separates the truce village of Panmunjeom.

The two sides held working-level talks on the North Korean side of Panmunjeom to discuss protocol, security and press coverage for the summit.