South Korea Prepares to Resume Panmunjom Tours
(MENAFN) South Korea is preparing to restart guided visits to Panmunjom, the symbolic village within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), as reported by local outlets on Thursday.
These tours are expected to recommence later this week after being paused due to escalated military friction with North Korea.
According to a news agency, the Ministry of Unification has scheduled the program to begin again on Friday.
The tours were suspended in late 2023 amid growing unease between the two Koreas.
The first delegation to visit will include 17 individuals, composed of public officials and executives representing state-run enterprises. T
he destination is Panmunjom, a village located slightly north of the unofficial boundary separating the two nations.
It is historically significant as the site where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, effectively ending hostilities in the Korean War.
The decision to freeze the tours came in July 2023, following an incident involving Travis King, a former U.S. Army serviceman.
During a visit to the Joint Security Area near the inter-Korean border, King unexpectedly crossed into North Korean territory, exacerbating already strained relations between the countries.
King was apprehended and held in North Korea for approximately two months before being released and repatriated to the United States.
In connection with a separate event near Seoul on or around October 8, 2022, King had unlawfully assaulted a superior noncommissioned officer by grabbing him by the arm.
He later admitted guilt to five offenses: "One count of desertion, one count of assault on a non-commissioned officer and three counts of disobeying a lawful order."
A military judge sentenced him to a total of 12 months in confinement for desertion and one month for each of the other four charges.
However, the punishment equaled the duration he had already spent in custody.
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