A South Korean soldier stands guard at the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone, May 9, 2023. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — South Korea plans to resume public tours of the Joint Security Area, a high-stakes spot shared with North Korea inside the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two nations, the Ministry of Unification announced Wednesday.
The ministry news release said the tours will resume after consultations with relevant organizations, including United Nations Command, and after considering factors such as public safety and inter-Korean relations.
The tours could begin as early as next month, an unnamed ministry official told Yonhap News on Tuesday.
U.N. Command acknowledged but did not immediately respond to an email requesting more details Wednesday. The U.S.-led command, composed of 18 member states, is responsible for security at the JSA and enforcing the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953.
A South Korean soldier guards a door leading to the North Korean side of the Joint Security Area during a tour in May 2017. (Aaron Kidd/Stars and Stripes)
Until 2023, tourists under the supervision of U.N. Command troops could visit the JSA and enter iconic blue buildings where military officials from the U.S., South Korea, North Korea and China negotiated the end of the Korean War. Other notable sites include the Peace House, where South and North Korean officials conduct inter-Korean talks.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the Peace House in 2018, marking the first entry by a North Korean leader into South Korean territory since the war.
Public tours were halted on July 18, 2023, after Army Pvt. Travis King crossed the Military Demarcation Line — the actual border between the two Koreas — and entered the North. North Korea released King two months later, after negotiations involving the Swedish government.
The Ministry of Unification resumed tours for its affiliated personnel on Nov. 22, 2023, but suspended them eight days later when North Korean troops began rebuilding old guard posts and arming themselves along the border.
Senior U.S. and foreign officials, however, have continued to tour the JSA. Last year, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Philippines Ambassador to South Korea Theresa Dizon-De Vega and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong were among those who visited.
Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, who took command of U.S. Forces Korea in December, visited the JSA for the first time last month.
