Go to contents

NK nuclear issue indefinitely postpones joint Manwoldae excavation

NK nuclear issue indefinitely postpones joint Manwoldae excavation

Posted February. 04, 2016 07:18,   

Updated February. 04, 2016 07:21

한국어

The South-North Korea joint Manwoldae (a palace built in the Goryeo time) excavation, which was scheduled this month, has been postponed indefinitely. This delay is due to North Korea's fourth nuclear weapon testing, and the possibility of resuming the project in the first half of this year is highly unlikely. The site became an issue as metal types considered to be from the Goryeo Dynasty were discovered there last year.

"With the discovery of the Goryeo types, we had an agreement with North Korea at the end of last year to advance this year's excavation to February," said an official of the Cultural Heritage Administration on Wednesday. "However, because of the impact of the nuclear testing, we have not even started actual business negotiation." The South-North Korea History Scholar Association excavated Manwoldae for six months from June 1 to Nov. 30 last year, which was the longest excavation since 2007 when South and North Korea started excavating Manwoldae.

The Manwoldae excavation project has been always affected by aggravation in South-North Korea relations. For instance, the North Korean attack on the Cheonan ship paused the project for three years from 2011 to 2014.

The Government still sees the possibility of the project resuming within this year. "Last March, North Korea contacted us suddenly to suggest resuming the excavation," said an official of the Cultural Heritage Administration. "Manwoldae is a symbol of South-Korea Korea cultural heritage exchange. The project will never stop permanently."

The excavation team started the project from an area of 7,000 sq. m. on the left side of the palace, and discovered a metal type 255 meters away from the Shinbongmun site in November. This discovery attracted public attention as there was a controversy about whether Jeongdogaja was a Goryeo type. The excavation team confirmed that the newly discovered type is different from Jeongdogaja in its font and size.



김상운 기자sukim@donga.com