Two Koreas holding joint rehearsal at Panmunjom ahead of inter-Korean summit

2018-04-25 4

And today, the two Koreas are holding a joint rehearsal for Friday's summit.
Let's connect straight to our Blue House correspondent Hwang Hojun for the latest.
Hojun, what can you tell us.

Jiyoon, North Korea has sent its delegates led by Kim Chang-son, an official from Pyongyang's State Affairs Commission to the Peace House, located on the South Korean side of Panmunjom, and as you said, the two Koreas have held a joint rehearsal this morning.
Now we don't know for sure when exactly the rehearsal kicked off, whether if it's still going on, or when it will end,... as the Blue House said the joint rehearsal will take place behind closed doors.

But we can assume that the two Koreas will be running through every detail, as the top office pointed out the joint rehearsal will take place at the exact same time that the leaders of Seoul and Pyongyang are set to meet on Friday.
There will be no stand-ins for President Moon or Kim Jong-un.
Now just to remind you, there have been a series of working-level talks in preparation for the historic summit.
With that, there has also been speculation that there will be additional high-level talks between Seoul and Pyongyang before Friday.
However, a government official confirmed yesterday that the two Koreas decided not to hold any additional high-level talks before the main event.
Instead, if there is any need to iron out the kinks, the two sides will hold discussions during the joint rehearsal today.
A Blue House official said this morning that the preparation process is going smoothly.
The South Korean government held its own rehearsal session at the summit venue Tuesday afternoon, where they examined every detail related to the actual summit, including the path people will take, the order of events, and even the furniture inside the building.
The summit committee convened afterward to discuss any issues or concerns,... and is expected to implement the necessary changes on the final run through on Thursday, the eve of the summit, which will involve more detail, and of course more people.

As the summit draws near, it does seem no detail is too trivial.... and the Blue House is giving its undivided attention to dot the 'i's and cross the 't's.

You're absolutely right, Ji-yoon.
The Blue House said earlier this morning that President Moon and his staff will only focus on gearing up for the summit today, and nothing else.

They launched a website for registered reporters who are following the event to receive live updates and press releases.
And starting tomorrow, Chunchugwan, the presidential press center, will hold all its briefings at the Main Press Center at the KINTEX exhibition hall in the city of Goyang, northwest of Seoul.
As of Tuesday, more than two-thousand-eight-hundred reporters from 41 countries have registered to cover the inter-Korean summit at the MPC.
And as on-site registration will also be available, the total number of reporters is likely to reach 3000.
Ji-yoon.