Anchor: Suspended tours to the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjeom at the inter-Korean border will resume this week after a seven month hiatus.
Lee Bo-kyung has more.

Report: The South Korean government announced on Monday that it will reopen the southern part of the Joint Security Area(JSA) to the public starting Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of the Panmunjeom Declaration adopted after the inter-Korean summit held in April of last year. 

The government said in a press release that the measure is aimed at preparing for free cross-border movement planned in the future and to expedite the prolonged trilateral talks among the two Koreas and the United Nations Command(UNC). 

Under the restarted tour program, the public will be allowed to visit historic spots of the first summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, including the foot bridge where the two leaders strolled together and the site where they planted a tree to celebrate their meeting. 

The government will also open up a guard post where soldiers of the two Koreas will work together. 

The popular tours south of the JSA have been suspended since last October for security reasons, as South and North Korea launched a campaign to demilitarize the area under a military agreement to ease cross-border tensions.
 
The two Koreas previously agreed to allow South Korean residents and foreign tourists to cross the military demarcation line after completing the disarming process of the area.

However, the plan has been delayed as the two Koreas and the U.S.-led UNC, which oversees activities inside the DMZ, have yet to reach an agreement for such free movement.

South Korea will open the area on a trial basis beginning the first week of May, providing access only to registered students who apply. At a later date entry will be expanded to include South Korean residents and international visitors.
Lee Bo-kyung, KBS World Radio News.