Oct. 4 celebratory event to start at 10AM in Pyeongyang
- 6 years ago
Our top story this morning...
A group of 160 South Koreans are in the North Korean capital to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the October 4th Declaration.
An inter-Korean joint event to celebrate that is to happen now in Pyeongyang.
For more, let's connect to our Unification Ministry correspondent Oh Jung-hee, who joins us on the line.
Jung-hee, has the event started yet?
If everything's going according to schedule, then yes, Mark.
The celebratory event is supposed to start at 10AM this morning, which is about now, at People's Culture Palace in Pyeongyang and last for an hour and a half.
A speech written jointly by Korean representatives from the South, the North, and overseas will be read.
It calls for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and expanding exchanges in all fields, while completely getting rid of threat of war and denuclearization.
All 160 members of the South Korean delegation will be attending that event... including Seoul's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, the chair of the ruling Democratic Party Lee Hae-chan,... and Roh Geon-ho.
Roh is the son of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, who adopted the October 4th Declaration with then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il back in 2007.
We do not know who's attending from the North Korean side, but it's likely North Korea's nominal head of state Kim Yong-nam and head of the reunification committee Ri Son-gwon will attend.
This is the first time the two Koreas are holding a celebratory event for the October 4th anniversary.
After that event, the delegation from Seoul is to have lunch at Okryugwan, a restaurant that's famous for Pyeongyang's cold noodles.
Then later in the afternoon, they'll look around Mansudae Art Studio, one of North Korea's largest art production centers, and Mangyongdae Children's Palace, a facility for children's extra-curricular activities.
In the evening, the delegates will watch North Korea's Mass Games and arts performance... and attend a dinner banquet.
That's all on the official schedule, but what we should keep our eyes on is whether the two Koreas will hold any sort of inter-Korean talks on the sidelines.
Before heading north of the border, Seoul's unification minister hinted there will be discussions on how to follow up on the latest September summit agreement.
So many speculate there could be high-level talks between Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and his North Korean counterpart Ri Son-gwon.
And as Seoul's Vice Health Minister and Cultural Heritage Administrator are also there in the North, they too could meet with their North Korean counterparts to discuss medical and cultural cooperation.
Mark.
A group of 160 South Koreans are in the North Korean capital to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the October 4th Declaration.
An inter-Korean joint event to celebrate that is to happen now in Pyeongyang.
For more, let's connect to our Unification Ministry correspondent Oh Jung-hee, who joins us on the line.
Jung-hee, has the event started yet?
If everything's going according to schedule, then yes, Mark.
The celebratory event is supposed to start at 10AM this morning, which is about now, at People's Culture Palace in Pyeongyang and last for an hour and a half.
A speech written jointly by Korean representatives from the South, the North, and overseas will be read.
It calls for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and expanding exchanges in all fields, while completely getting rid of threat of war and denuclearization.
All 160 members of the South Korean delegation will be attending that event... including Seoul's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, the chair of the ruling Democratic Party Lee Hae-chan,... and Roh Geon-ho.
Roh is the son of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, who adopted the October 4th Declaration with then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il back in 2007.
We do not know who's attending from the North Korean side, but it's likely North Korea's nominal head of state Kim Yong-nam and head of the reunification committee Ri Son-gwon will attend.
This is the first time the two Koreas are holding a celebratory event for the October 4th anniversary.
After that event, the delegation from Seoul is to have lunch at Okryugwan, a restaurant that's famous for Pyeongyang's cold noodles.
Then later in the afternoon, they'll look around Mansudae Art Studio, one of North Korea's largest art production centers, and Mangyongdae Children's Palace, a facility for children's extra-curricular activities.
In the evening, the delegates will watch North Korea's Mass Games and arts performance... and attend a dinner banquet.
That's all on the official schedule, but what we should keep our eyes on is whether the two Koreas will hold any sort of inter-Korean talks on the sidelines.
Before heading north of the border, Seoul's unification minister hinted there will be discussions on how to follow up on the latest September summit agreement.
So many speculate there could be high-level talks between Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and his North Korean counterpart Ri Son-gwon.
And as Seoul's Vice Health Minister and Cultural Heritage Administrator are also there in the North, they too could meet with their North Korean counterparts to discuss medical and cultural cooperation.
Mark.