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Korea summit: Little known facts about 'truce village' Panmunjom on DMZ

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Apr 27, 2018, 09:00 AM IST
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File photo. Photograph:(AFP)

Panmunjom village is located in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) at the border of South Korea and North Korea. The three-storey Peace House, located just across the demilitarised zone on the South Korean side of Panmunjom truce village, is a spot where many bilateral talks and other political meetings have taken place earlier including the talks between North and South Korea held in January this year to ease the military tensions.

This village is considered one of the last frontiers where soldiers come face-to-face.

As North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in engage in a historic bilateral summit at the Peace House today, here are little-known things about this area:

  • The village is a small cluster which hardly has ten huts, it also called ''truce village''. 
  • This village otherwise known as Joint Security Area (JSA) is a "no man's land" as it is inside the heavily mined four-km-wide demilitarized zone that served as the de-facto border between the two Koreas and the area is marked with fences and heavy security.
  •  Panmunjom village has been a venue for inter Korean talks, it was designated as one place where officials meet and talk after the Korean war ended in a truce in 1953.

           

  •  There is a building in the village which is connected to Seoul and Pyongyang for officials in both the countries to monitor and every time talks happens between countries it happens in that building.
  • The "truce village" is divided into two parts by a military demarcation line with one belonging to the South and the other belonging to the North and in the middle of the village there is a UN command building known as peace house crossing the middle line. 
  •  Many American presidents visit this DMZ area to due to its historical significance. 

             

  • It is also a place for  American presidents to visit during their South Korea visit since it is a symbolic demonstration of Washington's commitment to defend Seoul.
  • The village is a popular tourist destination and there is a list of instructions that tourist needs to follow like they can't go there wearing torn jeans, t-shirts, mini skirts or any other revealing clothes.
  • As part of the tour in the village, tourists can visit Dosan station from where people used to travel from Pyongyang to Seoul. There is also a souvenir on the North side where tourists can buy souvenirs and even North Korean alcohol.