pyongyang Roh to Walk Across Border
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun will walk across the inter-Korean border during his trip to Pyongyang for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Tuesday, according to the Unification Ministry Sunday.
``The two Koreas reached agreement that Roh, first lady Kwon Yang-suk and 13 official delegates will walk across the Military Demarcation Line (MDL),'' Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said. ``Walking across the border will be a historic and moving moment.''
Lee further said that the historic event would pave the way for establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Roh and his entourage will be the first from the South to walk about 30 to 40 meters across the MDL to the North. The second inter-Korean summit is slated for Oct. 2-4.
Roh's walk across the border will be televised live around the world and Roh will deliver a message of peace prior to the walk, according to ministry officials.
The MDL running along the middle of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is also referred to as the armistice line.
Roh and the first lady will depart for Pyongyang in a sedan, accompanied by 30 buses carrying about 300 delegates via the western part of the DMZ on Tuesday morning.
Lee also said that North Korea's propaganda performance, Arirang, which Roh will watch during his stay in Pyongyang, has no sensitive content such as the missile launch and nuclear experiment.
``The South Korean preparatory delegation, who watched the Arirang Saturday, reported to me that the performance is lyrical and magnificent,'' Lee said.
The North suggested deleting some sensitive parts of the performance when it invited Roh to the Arirang show, according to Lee.
Actually, North Korea deleted its military-related content and instead added Korean martial art, taekwondo performance to the Arirang show, according to a North Korea's Web site dubbed ``uriminjogkkiri,'' meaning ``our nation, North and South Korea, together.''
However, Roh faced criticism for his plan to watch the show because it is one of the most famous propaganda performances of North Korea.