Seoul, (Samajweekly) Tours to the inter-Korean village of Panmunjom have been suspended again due to fears over the Covid-19 pandemic, just about a month after it had resumed following a year-long termination, the Unification Ministry in Seoul announced on Sunday.
The announcement came after South Korea’s single-day coronavirus cases broke the 1,000-mark since the country reported its first ever confirmed infection in January, Yonhap News Agency reported.
“We have decided to temporarily suspend the Panmunjom tours starting from December 15 as part of the toughened measures against Covid-19,” the Ministry said in a statement.
“We have also consulted with the UN Command.”
The UN Command controls access to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), including Panmunjom.
The Ministry added that it will resume the tours when the Covid-19 restrictions ease.
The Panmunjom tours resumed earlier last month after more than a year of suspension due to the outbreak of African swine fever.
The tours take visitors to the Joint Security Area (JSA) and other sites inside the DMZ separating the two Koreas.
