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Blue House chief of staff Im Jong-seok (center) presides over a general meeting of the Panmunjeom Declaration implementation committee on June 15 at the Blue House’s Yeomin Pavilion. (Blue House photo pool)
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North Korea proposed pilot measure for turning the DMZ into peace zone
The implementation committee for the Panmunjeom Declaration decided on June 15 to actively pursue demilitarization of the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjeom as proposed by North Korea in general-level military talks the day before. The decision was made by the committee at a meeting presided over that day by its chairperson, Blue House chief of staff Im Jong-seok, Blue House spokesperson Kim Eui-kyum said. “At the inter-Korean general-level military talks yesterday, North Korea proposed demilitarizing the JSA as a pilot measure for turning the DMZ into a peace zone,” Kim explained. “The implementation committee agreed to actively pursue this and plans to reach an agreement on the specifics with the UN Command, which oversees the JSA,” he added. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Unification announced that South Korean personnel would be commuting to the Kaesong Industrial Complex on June 19–20 to prepare for needed repairs for the swift establishment of a Kaesong-area inter-Korean joint liaison office with permanently stationed officials. A total of 17 South Korean officials are to visit Kaesong from the Ministry of Unification, the Gaeseong Industrial District Foundation, Hyundai Asan, and elsewhere. The visiting staffers are scheduled to undertake preparations for repairs to the complex’s general support center, inter-Korean economic cooperation office, and employee dormitories. By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer, and Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
