Panmunjeom
 Panmunjeom, view from North to South Korea |
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| Korean spelling | |
|---|---|
| Korean alphabet : | 판문점 |
| Hanja : | 板門店 |
| Revised Romanization : | Panmunjeom |
| McCune-Reischauer : | P'anmunjŏm |
Panmunjeom , also called Panmunjom , officially Joint Security Area ( JSA , English for "common security zone "), is a military settlement in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea , where the end of the Korean War was negotiated from 1951 to 1953 . It is since the ceasefire agreement , the headquarters of the Military Armistice Commission (MAC) , which monitors compliance with the cease-fire. The address is Josan-ri, Gunnae-myeon, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do. In Panmunjeom is the bridge of no return , which for a long time was the only border crossing between the two Korean states. The place is under the sole management of the MAC.
history
The name Panmunjeom is said to come from the name of a village “Neolmun”, which means a gate made of boards. Since July 10, 1951, delegations from the warring parties have met there to negotiate an end to the war. After 765 conferences, China , North Korea and the UN (represented by the USA ) finally signed the armistice agreement on July 27, 1953. According to the provisions of the agreement, all settlements within the demilitarized zone - including the place originally called Panmunjeom - were evacuated. The headquarters of the MAC Armistice Commission, consisting of representatives from both sides, was moved to the newly drawn border between the two Korean states, but kept the name Panmunjeom . Panmunjeom also served as a place for further negotiations in the following decades.
On April 27, 2018, North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un crossed the southern border within the JSA to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in at a summit in the Peace House . During the greeting, Moon also briefly crossed the border into North Korean territory at Kim's invitation. In September the two Koreas signed an agreement to reduce military tension. According to the agreement, mines in the JSA were cleared from October 1st to 19th, and by the 25th, the disarmament and the withdrawal of guards took place.
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On June 30, 2019, Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump met for a meeting in Panmunjeom. Trump was the first US president to cross the border into North Korea, and then both crossed the border with South Korea together.
Area
The most important buildings in Panmunjeom are three blue barracks with one door each on the North Korean and South Korean sides. The military demarcation line (concrete block in the middle between the barracks), de facto the border between North and South Korea, runs through its center . Negotiations between the two parties took place in these huts.
The middle barrack is alternately accessible to visitor delegations from both sides. Two soldiers from one part of Korea, from which the room is entered, then guard the door to the other part of the country. Otherwise you can move freely in the small negotiation room and thus cross the border. Only a narrow strip of concrete and a different substrate mark the boundary between the barracks.
On the South Korean side of the area is the Freedom House (" Freedom House "). The original building was a viewing pavilion built in 1965 with two single-story side wings. A large 4-story new building has stood in its place since 1998, and the pavilion has been moved backwards at an angle. In Freedom House official meeting between the North and the South Korean side will take place, the two states and their respective Red Cross societies here have their Liaison Offices (liaison offices). 130 m to the southwest, the House of Peace was provisionally built in 1980 and in its present form in 1989 , where family gatherings between North and South Korean civilians took place in the past.
On the North Korean side, the Panmun-gak was built in 1969 , an originally two-story building (later extended by a third floor), which serves as quarters for North Korean delegations and security forces.
The border is monitored on both sides by military guards who are permanently present. For this task, special requirements are placed on the guards. For example, the South Korean soldiers must be at least 1.73 meters tall and have a black belt in judo - or taekwondo - martial arts to be allowed to serve in the DMZ. They remain on guard duty in a modified basic Taekwondo position with expressionless facial expressions and wear sunglasses so as not to show any emotions to the North Korean soldiers.
The area has a total diameter of 800 meters. Crossing the demarcation line has not been tolerated since an incident on August 18, 1976 in which two US soldiers were killed by North Korean soldiers. According to the inter-Korean military agreement, it will be allowed again.
In the vicinity of Panmunjeom there is also the so-called Bridge of No Return , over which prisoners were exchanged in 1953. The prisoners who crossed the border at this point had forfeited their right to return. The building in which the ceasefire agreement was ultimately signed is outside the Joint Security Area in North Korean territory.
Tourist use
Panmunjeom is the only place within the demilitarized zone that foreign tourists are allowed to enter as part of the education and orientation program. This program is carried out by the soldiers of the United Nations Command Security Battalion - Joint Security Area . The soldiers accompany and supervise all participants during the entire tour of the area, and it is necessary that the participants follow the instructions of the soldiers. Citizens from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, etc. may need to be identified in advance.
Nearby is the third attack tunnel , which can be viewed from the South Korean side.
photos
Panmunjeom, view from the North Korean Panmun-gak ("House of Unity") on the south side
Panmunjeom, view from the South Korean Freedom House ("House of Freedom") to the north
Panmunjeom, the South Korean House of Peace ("House of Peace"), in the background Kijŏng-dong
Inside the middle barrack: North Korean soldiers in front of the south-facing door
Bridge of no return
Uniform badge of the Swedish-Swiss monitoring commission
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Artistic reception
The South Korean feature film Joint Security Area from 2000 depicts the ultimately fatal friendship between four North and South Korean soldiers within the Joint Security Area in Panmunjeom.
Web links
- Tourism on the North Korean border , in spiegel-online from February 6, 2013
- The last wall separates North and South Korea , in Badische Zeitung on August 12, 2011
Individual evidence
- ↑ 판문점 (板門店) - 한국 민족 문화 대백과 사전. Retrieved April 12, 2018 (Korean).
- ↑ Korea Summit: Kim Jong Un speaks of the "Age of Peace". In: Spiegel Online . April 27, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018 .
- ^ Koreas summit: Leaders vow to end the Korean War in historic accord. In: edition.cnn.com. April 27, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018 .
- ^ Two Koreas, UNC Complete JSA Disarmament Process Thursday. Retrieved October 25, 2018 .
- ↑ Trump crosses the border with North Korea on the page of the Tagesschau from June 30, 2019, accessed on July 1, 2019
- ↑ ( page no longer available )
- ^ Ingrid Norbu: The "Neuländer" (archive). In: deutschlandfunk.de. March 30, 2013, accessed April 28, 2018 .
- ↑ likeweb@likeweb.co.kr: PREMIUM Panmunjom (JSA) tour with a North Korean defector | PTC Tour program |. Retrieved April 12, 2018 (Korean).
Coordinates: 37 ° 57 ′ 21.5 " N , 126 ° 40 ′ 36.7" E