Panmunjom discussed as a venue for Trump-Kim meeting

Panmunjom discussed as a venue for Trump-Kim meeting. May. 02, 2018 08:14. by In-Chan Hwang, Jeong-Hun Park hic@donga.com,sunshade@donga.com.
Expectations are rising that the first U.S.-North Korea summit will take place at the border truce village of Panmunjom. U.S. President Donald Trump directly mentioned the place as a possible location for the meeting, saying, “It had the chance to be a big event.” The South Korean and U.S. authorities have reportedly started preparatory works for the possibility of Panmunjom being chosen as a venue for the Trump-Kim meeting to be held around May 20.

At a joint press conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday (local time), to a reporter’s question about the possibility of holding a talk at DMZ, President Trump answered, “It’s possible. It’s very possible. We are also talking about the possibility of the DMZ Peace House and Freedom House.” “I also told President Moon (of South Korea) and through President Moon, we connected with North Korea. So, we are looking at the possibility of doing it on that location,” he added. Trump earlier wrote on his Twitter account, “Would Peace House/Freedom House, on the Border of North & South Korea, be a more Representative, Important and Lasting site than a third party country?”

“There’s something I like about it because you’re there, you’re actually there, where if things work out there’s a great celebration to be had on the site not in a third party country,” said Trump. Yet, he still said that his country was “looking at various countries, including Singapore.”

South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae is welcoming Trump’s consideration of Panmunjom as a venue for the meeting. “Panmunjom has great significance as a venue that erodes divisions and sets a milestone for new peace,” said a senior Cheong Wa Dae official. “He (President Trump) knew exactly about Freedom House and Peace House during a phone call last Saturday. He (President Trump) used a word ‘symbolic’ when talking about Panmunjom.”