April 25, 2018

Foreign Correspondents Take Part in Onsite Coverage of Inter-Korean Summit for First Time

For the first time in the history of inter-Korean summits, foreign correspondents will be at the upcoming event in person. They have been included in the press corps formed to cover the inter-Korean summit at Panmunjeom on site. Five foreign media—Reuters of the United Kingdom, Bloomberg of the United States and Xinhua of China as well as Kyodo News and Jiji Press of Japan— will participate in the press corps along with local Korean media to jointly cover the event at Panmunjeom. Their media coverage will include the historic first meeting between the leaders of the two Koreas, summit talks, dinner and other important events on the summit itinerary.

Back in 2000 and 2007 when inter-Korean summits were held, foreign media were not able to take part in onsite media coverage. They could cover meetings of the Military Armistice Commission between the United Nations and North Korea which were held up until 1991 and other inter-Korean talks, however, they have not been allowed to cover inter-Korean summits.

Korea bureau chief for Reuters Kim So-young, who is a member of the Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps, said that the whole world, not just Korea, was paying keen attention to the upcoming summit. As global attention is on how the two leaders will address issues pertaining to the Korean Peninsula, she said she would try her best to inform the world about the summit in a speedy and accurate manner.

Foreign journalists are showing keen interest in the summit and competing with each other to better cover the event. As of April 25, a total of 869 journalists from 184 media outlets of 36 countries have signed up for the summit, the highest number in inter-Korean summit history. Given on-site registrations, the number is expected to rise higher, and the total would be far higher than that of the 2000 summit covered by 543 journalists from 160 media outlets of 28 countries and the 2007 summit with 376 journalists from 90 media outlets of 16 countries. Leading global media organizations, including CNN, BBC, CCTV and NHK, have already completed their registration. These media organizations are expected to dispatch their broadcast vans and reporters mainly to Tongildaegyo Bridge and Dora Observatory in Paju as well as to KINTEX in Ilsan, where the Press Center is located.

The four leading news agencies—the Associated Press (AP), Agence France-Presse (AFP), Reuters and United Press International (UPI)—have been actively reporting on the inter-Korean summit. UPI, which had not had a Seoul branch, dispatched a correspondent to Seoul for the first time in three years.

According to an analysis, among the 869 foreign correspondents, Japan has registered the highest number of reporters with 366 from 25 media organizations, followed by the United States with 141 from 28 organizations, China with 81 journalists from 21 outlets, Taiwan with 48, the United Kingdom with 47 and Hong Kong with 35.

Some of the journalists who reported on the inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007 are included in the tally. Choe Sang-hun, The New York Times's Seoul bureau chief, covered the summit in 2000 for AP and the one in 2007 as a correspondent for the International Herald Tribune. Lim Yun Suk, Senior Correspondent for Channel NewsAsia's Korea Bureau in Singapore, reported on the two previous summits for Reuters. Cho Joohee, Chief and Correspondent of ABC News Seoul Bureau, and Stella Songhee Kim, Producer at NBC News, are also covering the inter-Korean summit for the third time.