Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom briefs the press on the final rehearsal for the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit, at the Main Press Center at the KINTEX convention center in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do Province, on April 26.
By Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps
The final rehearsal for the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit was done on April 26, just one day to go until the historic talks.
Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom said in a press briefing at the Main Press Center at the KINTEX convention center in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do Province, that, “The preparation committee has rehearsed every step of the schedule, such as where and how President Moon Jae-in will greet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he crosses the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), how President Moon will shake hands with Kim, and where the two leaders will look in the commemorative photos.”
The rehearsal was attended by all six members from the South Korean delegation, except Chairman Jeong Kyeongdoo of the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff, and things are now all prepared for the April 27 summit, said the spokesperson.
“For the welcoming ceremony and inspection of the honor guard, consisting of about 300 members of the South Korean army, navy and air force, the military band rehearsed the performance that will be done tomorrow. In addition, an inspection was done of all the lighting and flower decorations in the meeting room and the banquet venue at the Peace House in Panmunjeom,” he explained.
Outside Panmunjeom, the United Nations Command soldiers carried out a final check to detect any dangerous articles using search dogs and a squad of deminers, while the venue where the two leaders are planting a pine tree was inspected and a run-through for the ceremony to set up a stone plaque for the tree was done, as well.
Regarding the fact that the Footbridge across which the leaders will walk after the first session of the meeting in the morning has been repainted azure, the spokesperson explained, “The color is the symbol of the U.N. and, also, of the Unified Korea flag.”
He added that a new T-shaped bridge was attached to the middle of the Footbridge, at the end of which there is a sign that describes the meaning of a signpost for the MDL. Here, chairs and a table were placed so that the two leaders can continue their discussions in a less formal setting.
