South Korea makes final preparations for Friday's inter-Korean summit

  • 6 years ago
남북정상회담 준비위 오늘 판문점서 리허설, 내일은 남북합동으로

Just three days to go now until the inter-Korean summit,... and the South Korean government is doing its final checks.
That includes facilities for all the journalists who'll be covering the big event, and the rehearsals.
Let's connect to our Blue House correspondent, Hwang Hojun,... who's on the phone with the latest.
Hojun,... details are coming out now by the hour. What can you tell us?

Good afternoon, Devin.
The pace is definitely picking up with only three days left.
As we speak right now, the inter-Korean summit preparatory committee is holding its own rehearsal session at the summit venue,.... the "Peace House" on the South Korean side of Panmunjom,... to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, who heads the committee is attending the rehearsal along with the three subcommittee chiefs in charge of the agenda; communication and public relations; and operations support.
Every detail related to the actual summit, including the path people will take, the order of events, and the furniture inside the building, will be examined during the rehearsal.
They will convene afterwards to discuss any issues or concerns and will implement necessary changes on the final run through on the eve of the summit, which will involve more detail and of course more people.
On Wednesday, North Korea will send its delegates led by Kim Chang-son, an official from Pyongyang's State Affairs Commission, to the Peace House, and the two Koreas will hold a joint rehearsal.
And while the Presidential Office of Cheong Wa Dae didn't release the time of the rehearsal, it did say the joint rehearsal will take place at the exact same time as the leaders of Seoul and Pyongyang are set to meet on Friday.
They also confirmed there will be no stand-ins for President Moon or Kim Jong-un.
Along with the rehearsal today, the committee will kick off its operation of the situation rooms in both the third floor of the Peace House and the Main Press Center located at the KINTEX exhibition hall in Goyang, northwest of Seoul.
The Main Press Center which will welcome media outlets from Korea and abroad will open on Thursday.
As of this morning, over two-thousand-eight-hundred reporters from 41 countries have registered to cover the historic event.
And Devin, just about an hour and a half ago, the Blue House revealed what will be served at the dinner that President Moon and Kim Jong-un will be attending Friday evening.
According to the Blue House spokesperson, the dinner menu will reflect the efforts of those who contributed to the peace and unification of the two Koreas.
Dishes prepared by Seoul will include ones from the hometowns of the late South Korean Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun as well from Moon Jae-in's hometown -- also food from Switzerland, where Kim Jong-un spent part of his childhood.
Pyongyang-style naengmyun, or cold noodles, will also be served.
Back to you, Devin.

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