DMZ Peace Trail Resumes... Two Months After West Sea Official Shooting Incident

Tension Gradually Eases in Border Area
Lee In-young, Minister of Unification: "US Election, a Turning Point in the Situation"
"South and North, Let's Design a New Era of Peace Together"

Goseong DMZ Peace Trail

The 'DMZ Peace Trail' section in Paju will reopen from the 28th. This comes about two months after a South Korean official was shot dead by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea.

On the 11th, the government announced, "To prevent the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF), the DMZ Peace Trail section in Paju, which had been suspended since September 19 last year, will resume from November 28."

Following the recent reopening of Panmunjom tours, the Peace Trail sections in Goseong and Paju are also scheduled to reopen next year, and the tense inter-Korean border areas are expected to gradually regain vitality.

Especially considering the inauguration of a new administration after the U.S. presidential election and other schedules, a deadlock in North Korea-U.S. relations is inevitable until the first half of next year. Therefore, the government appears to be managing the situation on the Korean Peninsula with conciliatory gestures.

Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, said at a press briefing on the 9th that the U.S. presidential election is a "major turning point in the situation" and expressed hope to "make this period of change a time for inter-Korean relations." At the opening ceremony of the Panmunjom tour support center on the 4th, he also said, "Let us redesign a new era of peace between South and North Korea."

The government, aware of critical public opinion regarding the reopening of border areas, maintains that this is not an inter-Korean cooperation project but an internal project within South Korea.

An official from the Ministry of Unification said regarding the Panmunjom tours at that time, "Our citizens visiting Panmunjom, that is, our side's area, is unrelated to inter-Korean cooperation projects," adding, "Simply put, it is an internal project, not a project toward North Korea." The official added, "Panmunjom is visited by about 70,000 people annually, and the prolonged suspension of tours has caused difficulties for the local economy."

He emphasized, "Since the start of Panmunjom tours for domestic visitors 40 years ago, it is very unusual for tours to be suspended for more than a year as this time. Even during past incidents such as the Cheonan sinking and the landmine incident, tours proceeded normally."

He also mentioned that the United Nations Command approved the resumption of regular Panmunjom tours for the general public on the 28th of last month, explaining, "The government made this decision comprehensively considering not only quarantine safety but also public demand for Panmunjom tours, revitalization of the border area economy, and the UN Command's policy to resume tours."

Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, who visited Panmunjom, is waving his hand toward North Korea's Panmungak from the south side of the Military Demarcation Line in Panmunjom, Paju-si, Gyeonggi Province, on the morning of September 16.

Meanwhile, before reopening the Paju section, the government installed wild boar exclusion fences, vehicle and personnel disinfection equipment, and footbath disinfectant tanks to prevent ASF, and completed joint inspections with related ministries. After reopening the Paju section, the government plans to continuously monitor the implementation of ASF prevention measures and the habitat status of wild boars.

Additionally, to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19, the operation scale will be reduced from 20 to 10 people per session, and participants will strictly follow safety travel guidelines such as wearing masks and maintaining a 2-meter distance during the trip. The government will consider expanding the operation scale depending on future circumstances.

Starting with the reopening of the Paju section, the Goseong and Cheorwon sections will also undergo joint inspections after completing swine fever prevention measures and are expected to reopen sequentially in early 2021.

Before being suspended due to ASF, about 15,000 people visited the DMZ Peace Trail sections in Goseong, Cheorwon, and Paju, which were opened last year. Through the reopening of the DMZ Peace Trail, the government plans to enable more citizens to directly experience the diverse values of peace, ecology, history, and culture embedded in the DMZ.

Citizens wishing to participate can apply from the 13th by selecting their desired visit date on the Korea Tourism Organization's 'DMZ Peace Trail' website or the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's 'DMZgi' website. Final participants will be selected by lottery, and the results will be announced on the website and notified via text message. Applications can be made for up to four accompanying persons.