Tours to truce village to be halted amid talk of Trump-Kim meeting

South Korea has suspended all field trips to the truce village of Panmunjom in Gyeonggi province from late October through early November - a move that has stirred speculation of a possible meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit.

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The Unification Ministry confirmed on Oct 20 that its special tour programme to the Joint Security Area (JSA) will be paused for the period surrounding the summit, which will be held from Oct 31to Nov1in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang province.

“There will be no Unification Ministry-operated special field trips to Panmunjom from late October to early November,” ministry spokesman Koo Byoung-sam said at a press briefing, adding that inquiries should be directed to the United Nations Command (UNC), which oversees the southern half of the JSA.

The government suspension reportedly follows a similar decision by the UNC to halt its own Panmunjom visitor programme during the same period.

The UNC, which manages the delicate border zone where the two Koreas technically remain at war, has not disclosed the reason for the pause.