Non-Korean media allowed North for coverage

By Sohn JiAe 

The “Korea Pool,” a group of media that will directly cover the upcoming 2018 Inter-Korean Summit from the Peace House in Panmunjeom, will now include non-Korean journalists and broadcasters, a first in the history of Inter-Korean Summits.

Cheong Wa Dae announced on April 25 that non-Korean media will be allowed on the scene to cover the summit as part of the “Korea Pool.” The group will include five media outlets: Reuters from the U.K., Bloomberg from the U.S., the Xinhua News Agency from China and then both Kyodo News and Jiji Press from Japan.

At the previous 2000 and 2007 summits, no journalist from outside Korea were allowed to directly cover the stories because they have not been allowed inside Panmunjeom since 1991.

Before that, they were able to cover events at Panmunjeom, including the Military Armistice Commission between the U.N. and North Korean forces, and also other meetings involving South and North Korean officials.

Kim Soyoung, chief of the Korea bureau for Reuters and one of the non-Korean journalists allowed to attend the summit, said that, “This summit is garnering interest from beyond Korea, from all around the world. As the whole world is now watching closely how the two leaders of both Koreas will be solving issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, we, as foreign media journalists, will send updates on the summit quickly and accurately to the world.”

As of April 25, meanwhile, the number of registered non-Korean journalists and broadcasters covering the upcoming summit has reached 869 people from 184 news outlets from a total of 36 countries, which is the largest-ever. Given that more journalists will register on-the-spot at the press centers before and on the summit day, the number is expected to further increase.

jiae5853@korea.kr