Inter-Korean Summit Preparation Committee Chairman Im Jong-seok Briefs Media on Schedule of Inter-Korean Summit

I will brief you on the schedule of the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit.

President Moon Jae-in and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un will begin their historic first meeting at the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) at Panmunjeom at around 9:30 tomorrow morning, April 27.

Chairman Kim will walk across the MDL between buildings T2 and T3 that are used as the meeting rooms of the Military Armistice Commission.

President Moon will greet Chairman Kim at the MDL line in front of the Military Armistice Commission meeting room.

After meeting at the MDL, the two leaders will be escorted by a South Korean traditional honor guard to the venue for the official welcoming ceremony.

At 9:40 am, they will arrive at the Panmunjeom square located between Freedom House and Peace House. The official welcoming ceremony, including the inspection of the honor guard, will be observed at the square. Back in 2000 and 2007 when President Kim Dae-jung and President Roh Moo-hyun visited Pyeongyang for a summit, they reviewed the honor guard consisting of members of the North Korean army, navy and air force during the official welcoming ceremony.

After reviewing the honor guard, the two leaders will greet the official delegates of both sides accompanying them, which will conclude the welcoming ceremony. Then, they will move to Peace House where the summit will take place.

Chairman Kim is scheduled to sign the guestbook prepared on the first floor of Peace House and join President Moon in the taking of commemorative photos. They will have a chat in the reception room before moving to the conference room on the second floor to start the inter-Korean summit for peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula at 10:30 am.

After the morning session of the summit is finished, the two sides will have separate luncheons and a rest time.

In the afternoon, the North and South Korean leaders will jointly plant a commemorative tree as an expression of wishes for peace and prosperity.

The two leaders will together plant a pine tree, which stands for peace and prosperity, on the MDL, which has symbolized confrontation and division over the past 65 years. The spot for the tree is beside a path near the MDL, which Hyundai Group Founder and Chairman Chung Ju-yung (1915-2001) took with a convoy of cattle-filled trucks on a visit to his hometown in North Korea.

The pine, a tree beloved by the Korean people, was selected as the species for the commemorative tree planting. The age of the particular tree involved dates back to 1953, when the Korean War Armistice Agreement was signed. A mixture of soil from Hallasan and Baekdusan mountains will be used for the planting, after which Chairman Kim will water the tree with water from the Hangang river and President Moon will pour some water from the Daedonggang River.

Engraved on the stone plaque for the tree will be the phrase “Peace and Prosperity Are Planted,” as well as the signatures of President Moon and Chairman Kim.

The joint commemorative tree-planting event was suggested by the South Korean Government and agreed to by the North, which also accepted the South’s choice of tree species and wording for the stone plaque placed in front of the tree.

After the tree-planting, the two leaders are likely to engage in friendly conversation as they walk together to the Footbridge, where a signpost of the MDL stands.

The Footbridge got its name from the United Nations Command when it was built over a marsh in the Panmunjeom area to shorten the route taken by the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, which frequently came to Panmunjeom after the Armistice Agreement was concluded. Work to widen and extend the bridge was taken as part of preparations for the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit.

For the two Korean leaders to walk together right up to the MDL, which is located on the extended part of the Footbridge, is to signify the arrival of peace on the Korean Peninsula and the era of cooperation and prosperity. From now on the Footbridge (“Dobodari” in Korean) will become the historic site that symbolizes the slogan of the Inter-Korean Summit, “Peace, a New Start.”

After taking a stroll, the two leaders will move toward Peace House and continue with the schedule in the afternoon.

After the summit meeting, the two leaders will sign an agreement and announce it. According to the content of the agreement, where and how it will be announced will be determined.

Starting from 6:30 pm, the welcoming dinner will begin in the banquet hall on the third floor, which will be attended by all officials from both sides.

Following the welcoming dinner, there will be a farewell ceremony, during which the two leaders will watch together a video. The facade of Peace House will be used as a screen, and the theme of the video is “A New Spring Enjoyed Together.”

The video will feature a mix of beautiful images and music to represent the past, the present and the future of the Korean Peninsula against the backdrop of Peace House, which will be remembered as a historic venue.

People around the world, in this historic moment, will have an opportunity to have the same feeling as the two leaders sharing deep fraternity and heart-touching events.

This will mark the end of all official events.

Let me brief you on the list of official delegates from the North. They consist of nine members as follows:

Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Kim Yong Chol, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea
Choe Hwi, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of Workers’ Party of Korea
Ri Su Yong, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of Workers’ Party of Korea
Kim Yo Jong, 1st Vice Department Director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea
Ri Myong Su, Chief of the KPA General Staff
Pak Yong Sik, Minister of the People’s Armed Forces of the DPRK
Ri Yong Ho, Foreign Minister
Ri Son Gwon, Chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country

I also want to announce that Gen. Jeong Kyeongdoo, Chairman of the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been added as an official delegate of the South.

(Cheong Wa Dae Briefing)