Will NK-US summit be held at Panmunjeom?

South Korean soldiers stand guard at the truce village of Panmunjeom in this file photo. / Korea Times file

By Kim Bo-eun

Expectation is growing over the possibility that the truce village of Panmunjeom will serve as a venue for a meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, after the historic inter-Korean summit took place there last week.

Bordering the South and the North, Panmunjeom symbolizes the divided Koreas. It is where the armistice for the 1950-53 Korean War was signed.

Trump positively mentioned the possibility of his summit with Kim at the truce village in a post on Twitter, Monday (local time).

“Numerous countries are being considered for the meeting, but would Peace House/Freedom House, on the border of North and South Korea, be a more representative, important and lasting site than a third party country? Just asking!” the post said. The Peace House and Freedom House are both on the southern side of Panmunjeom.

“There's something that I like about it because you are there, you are actually there,” he also said in a news conference at the White House. “If things work out there's a great celebration to be held on the site, not in a third-party country.”

Following Trump's remarks, a senior Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters that Trump and President Moon Jae-in discussed the venue of the Pyongyang-Washington summit in a phone call last weekend.

The official referred to the truce village as the optimal venue stating, “Panmunjeom has great significance as a venue that erodes divisions and sets a milestone for a new peace.”

“Wouldn't Panmunjeom be the most symbolic venue?” he said.

CNN reported that Kim agreed to hold the summit at Panmunjeom, citing confidential sources.

The news channel stated that it would be a historic opportunity for Trump to travel to the northern side of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) to meet a North Korean leader as a sitting U.S. president.

The report also quoted the source as saying that Panmunjeom could serve as the venue, as it has the necessary facilities and was recently renovated for the inter-Korean summit, and that the location would enable the South Korean President to become involved.

But the Cheong Wa Dae official said Seoul has not confirmed whether Washington and Pyongyang have agreed on Panmunjeom. He said Trump's remarks do not mean the option of holding the summit in a third country has not been completely ruled out.

Third country candidates, which are options offering neutrality, appear to have been narrowed down to Singapore and Ulaanbaatar. Singapore is an ally of the U.S. and is one of the countries with a North Korean embassy. Mongolia has diplomatic ties with both states. If the summit is held in Ulaanbaatar, it would enable Kim to travel via his armored train, which could be a more attractive option for him in terms of security.

Meanwhile, Moon and U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres agreed that U.N. officials would join security experts and journalists from South Korea and the U.S. when North Korea shuts down its Punggye-ri nuclear testing site.

The agreement was reached after their phone call earlier in the day, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom.

Moon also asked the U.N. to play a role in the Koreas making the DMZ into a genuine peace zone, and offer its support for the Panmunjeom Declaration reached in the inter-Korean summit. The U.N. chief responded positively to this, the spokesman said.