Date: Monday, October 19, 2020
Time: 10:30-10:40 A.M.
1. Minister's Schedule
Minister Lee In-young will attend the cabinet meeting tomorrow at 10 A.M.
On October 23, Minister Lee will attend the parliamentary inspection
at 10 A.M.
2. Vice Minister’s Schedule
Vice Minister Suh Ho will deliver congratulatory remarks at the
Yellow Sea Peace Forum held by the Incheon Institute on October 20 at
1:30 P.M.
On October 22, Vice Minister Suh will attend the vice-ministers’
conference at 10:30 A.M.
On October 23, Vice Minister Suh will attend the parliamentary
inspection at 10 A.M.
3. ROKG to resume Panmunjeom tours
Panmunjeom tours, which have been suspended since October last year
due to the spread of African swine fever, will resume starting
November 4.
Improvements have been made to the application procedure, allowing
for more convenient tours for South Korean nationals. The government
has established a ‘Panmunjeom Tour Support Center’ to unify the vast
ranging application windows, availed individual and family tours,
reduced the application deadline from 60 days to 14 days prior to the
intended tour, and lowered the age limit to 8 years old and above.
Official Panmunjeom tours will launch on November 6, after a trial
tour on November 4. Online registrations will be open to the public
through the Panmunjeom Tour Support Center website (www.panmuntour.go.kr) from
October 20.
Considering situations regarding the African swine fever (ASF) and
COVID-19, the government will begin with small-scale tours to ensure
safety. The government will expand tours in number and scale as the
situation improves.
The government expects the resumed Panmunjeom tours to facilitate
the demilitarization and free travel of Panmunjeom, as agreed in the
2018 Panmunjeom Declaration and the Agreement on the Implementation of
the Historic Panmunjeom Declaration in the Military Domain.
Starting with Panmunjeom and possibly leading to the reopening and
expansion of the DMZ Peace Trails, the government will continue its
efforts to return the DMZ to the Korean people.
4. Q&A (Extract)
Q. The two Koreas noted in a past agreement the freedom of movement
for visitors and tourists within the Joint Security Area (JSA) in
Panmunjeom, and I am aware this issue was discussed in trilateral
talks between the United Nations Command (UNC) and South and North
Korea. Has there been any progress regarding this matter?
A. The two Koreas have agreed on freedom of movement in the JSA
through the Agreement on the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjom
Declaration in the Military Domain. However, talks on this issue with
the North is not seeing any progress. Meanwhile, we are maintaining
communications with the UNC.
Q. What is the state of humanitarian aid to the North since the
killing of a South Korean official in the West Sea? Is it on hold?
A. As we have explained on a number of occasions, the Ministry has
asked for the cooperation of organizations in postponing the delivery
of humanitarian aid. The groups are continuing to cooperate voluntarily.
