ROK, DPRK reaches agreement on protocol, security, media coverage for summit

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) reached an agreement on protocol, security and media coverage for the third inter-Korean summit later this week, the Blue House of the ROK said Monday.

Kwun Hyuk-ki, director of Chunchugwan, the Blue House press center, told a press briefing that the two sides finally agreed the issues after holding three rounds of working-level dialogues.

The third talks of working-level officials from the two Koreas were held for three and a half hours earlier in the day at the border village of Panmunjom ahead of the summit scheduled for Friday at the border village.

Kwun said ROK President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un will make a historic first encounter early Friday, before holding a summit meeting and a welcome banquet respectively.

The two sides agreed to exchange the list of entourages who will accompany the two leaders to Panmunjom at an earliest possible date, Kwun said.

The DPRK allowed ROK journalists to live broadcast the summit meeting from Panmungak, a DPRK building located across a narrow road from pavilions that sit in the middle of Panmunjom and straddle the two Koreas.

The DPRK leader was forecast to cross the military demarcation line (MDL), marked only by a low concrete slab on a narrow aisle between the pavilions, on foot. Kim is expected to be greeted by Moon right in front of the cement slab.

Meanwhile, the ROK side planned to rehearse the summit schedules at Panmunjom Tuesday. The following day, a joint rehearsal of the two sides will be held, the Chunchugwan director said.

A DPRK advance team will stay in the ROK side of Panmunjom from Wednesday.