Unification Ministry to propose resumption of civilian tours to JSA

South Korea’s Unification Ministry plans to propose resuming civilian tours of the Joint Security Area (JSA) to the United Nations Command (UNC), according to a ministry official Sunday.

Two South Korean soldiers face the North Korean side of the Joint Security Area (JSA) while a United Nations Command officer, right, leads a tour of the truce village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea on March 3. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

South Korea’s Unification Ministry plans to propose resuming civilian tours of the Joint Security Area (JSA) to the United Nations Command (UNC), according to a ministry official Sunday.

Civilian tours to the area, which is jointly patrolled by guards from the UNC and the North Korean military, have been suspended since U.S. Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King ran across the border at the JSA on July 18 while on a group tour.

Officials have told reporters that the Unification Ministry has been unable to raise the issue amid ongoing downsizing and reshuffling, which began after President Yoon Suk Yeol said the ministry should stop “acting as a North Korea support agency” in early July.

The ministry’s center for inquiries about visits to the JSA has recently fielded around 20 calls per day regarding when tours might start again, according to officials.

An official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity said that the ministry had conducted an inspection of the JSA at the end of October and found “no particular reason why the tours shouldn’t resume.”

“We plan to raise the possibility of resuming tours to the JSA soon with the UNC,” the official added.

King was returned to U.S. custody at the end of September, following lengthy negotiations between the North and the Swedish government, which represents U.S. interests in Pyongyang.

He faces eight separate charges under the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice, including desertion, solicitation of child pornography, assault upon fellow soldiers, attempted escape from U.S. military custody and insubordination.

Shortly after King’s defection, UNC Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Andrew Harrison hinted that tour programs of the JSA would likely be overhauled.

“I’ve never been involved in a military inquiry that hasn't come up with a series of recommendations at the end, which may or may not change the processes that were in place beforehand,” he told reporters in Seoul on July 25.

While tours of the JSA for visiting dignitaries or on commemorative occasions, such as the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice, have taken place since King’s border dash, the site has been off-limits for regular group or media tours to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which divides the Koreas.

Not all DMZ tours included a stop at the JSA even before King’s defection attempt due to the constraints on visitor numbers associated with security concerns at the sensitive site.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]