South Korea says some DMZ tours to resume after US soldier crossing
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
These special tours, attended by 20 people, will take place three times a day, four times a week.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
SEOUL - South Korea said on Nov 21 that some tours of the demilitarised zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas will restart for selected guests for the first time since they were suspended after a US soldier dashed across the border
The DMZ tours, which are popular with foreign tourists, were halted after US Army soldier Travis King crossed into North Korea in July while on a tour.
He was later handed back by the North
A tour will take place on Nov 22, attended by people with ties to South Korea's Unification Ministry, though tours for the public remain suspended, said the ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs.
These special tours, attended by 20 people, will take place three times a day, four times a week, it said.
The resumption comes after the Unification Ministry met the Commander of the United Nations Command (UNC), General Paul LaCamera, on Nov 20 to discuss strengthening cooperation, the ministry said.
“We will work to resume general tours after thoroughly reviewing all the issues including the safety of the public with United Nations Command,” the ministry said in a statement.
The US-led UNC is a multinational military force.
It oversees affairs in the heavily fortified DMZ between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war.
The UNC had indefinitely suspended all tours around the tightly controlled village of Panmunjom, known formally as the Joint Security Area (JSA), after King’s unauthorised crossing.
Before the incident, tourists seeking to come up close to the authoritarian reclusive North regularly visited the JSA – a cluster of buildings that has hosted inter-Korean talks and where troops from both sides stand almost face to face. REUTERS
