One year anniversary celebration of Panmunjom Declaration held on S. Korean side

Posted on : 2019-04-29 16:39 KST Modified on : 2019-04-29 16:39 KST
Moon sends video message reflecting on significance of peace and inter-Korean relations
In celebration of the one year anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration
In celebration of the one year anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration

“Sometimes, when we run into an obstacle, we have to take a moment to catch our breath and then work together to find a way around it.”

This was the message delivered by South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Apr. 27, the first anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration. A video of his message was played as part of a “peace performance,” a commemorative event held on the South Korean side of Panmunjom that was organized by the Ministry of Unification, the city of Seoul, and Gyeonggi Province on Sunday evening. Even while Moon pointed to how inter-Korean relations have changed since his first meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which shook up Panmunjom one year ago, Moon appeared to be contemplating the failure to make progress on affairs on the Korean Peninsula following the second North Korea-US summit.

 American cellist Lynn Harrell performs Bach’s “Suites for Unaccompanied Cello” in front of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) on the South Korean side of Panmunjom on Apr. 27. (Yonhap News)
American cellist Lynn Harrell performs Bach’s “Suites for Unaccompanied Cello” in front of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) on the South Korean side of Panmunjom on Apr. 27. (Yonhap News)

“South and North Korea have embarked together on the path toward peace. Every passing year since the Panmunjom Declaration was made will bring us closer to a peace that is irreversible, and to shared prosperity on the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said.

Japanese flutist Ayako Takagi and Japanese pianist Ayako Uehara perform at a one year anniversary celebration of the Panmunjom Declaration on the South Korean side of Panmunjom on Apr. 27. (photo pool)
Japanese flutist Ayako Takagi and Japanese pianist Ayako Uehara perform at a one year anniversary celebration of the Panmunjom Declaration on the South Korean side of Panmunjom on Apr. 27. (photo pool)

Organized around the themes of “a long road” and a “road that is long but must be traveled,” the event that day involved performances for peace by artists from South Korea, the US, China, and Japan at six locations within Panmunjom that served as settings for the major events of the Apr. 27 inter-Korean summit. The first number was J. S. Bach’s “Suites for Unaccompanied Cello,” performed by US cellist Lynn Harrell in front of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that the two leaders crossed hand-in-hand during the summit. The selection of the composition, which was also performed in front of the Berlin Wall in 1989, was meant to convey a “hope that the national division and boundary comes down at Panmunjom just as the Berlin Wall did.” Yun I-sang’s “Etude for Flute” was also performed at the site of a ceremonial tree planting by the two leaders; at the House of Peace, singer BoA sang John Lennon’s “Imagine” to accompaniment by pianist Kim Kwang-min. Pope Francis sent a video message in which he shared his “prayer that the first anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration ushers in a new era of peace for all Koreans.”

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The event was attended by Minister of Unification Kim Yeon-chul, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung, Combined Forces Command and US Forces Korea Commander Robert Abrams, various diplomatic envoys in South Korea, and around 400 members of the public. There were no “surprise appearances” from North Korea, which did not show any particular response when notified by the South Korean government of its plans for the event on Apr. 22 through the inter-Korean joint liaison office in Kaesong, sources said. According to a military official, North Korean soldiers were more or less entirely absent from Panmunjom on the day of the event, with some occasionally appearing briefly to take pictures.

A video message from Pope Francis is played at a one year anniversary celebration of the Panmunjom Declaration on the South Korean side of Panmunjom on Apr. 27. (photo pool)
A video message from Pope Francis is played at a one year anniversary celebration of the Panmunjom Declaration on the South Korean side of Panmunjom on Apr. 27. (photo pool)

In a “memorandum” issued the same day for the anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration, North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country (CPRC) criticized the US for its interference and warned of the “grave situation” that was unfolding.

Accusing the US of “openly pressurizing the South Korean authorities” with its demands that inter-Korean relations not be put ahead of South Korea-US ones, the memorandum warned that a “grave situation” was taking shape, demanding a choice on whether to continue improving South Korea-US relations or return to conditions of “inching close to a war.”

Attendees of the one year anniversary celebration of the Panmunjom Declaration watch a video message from South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Apr. 27. (Yonhap News)
Attendees of the one year anniversary celebration of the Panmunjom Declaration watch a video message from South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Apr. 27. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Ji-eun and Lee wan, staff reporters

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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