North Korea erases 'unification' symbol at Panmunjom site

North Korea has replaced the nameplate of Tongilgak, a landmark building on its side of the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjom, with a new sign reading “Panmungwan,” according to multiple government sources. The revision, carried out in the latter half of 2023, appears to be part of Pyongyang’s broader campaign to erase symbols of inter-Korean reconciliation.

Tongilgak, which means “Unification Pavilion,” was the site of numerous high-level inter-Korean talks and working-level meetings between North Korea and the United States, including the May 26, 2018 summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The original name was reportedly chosen by Kim’s father, the late Kim Jong Il, who ordered the building's construction in August 1985.

Sources say the original plaque was removed around January 2023. After months of renovation, a new sign bearing the name “Panmungwan” was installed.

The building functioned as the North’s counterpart to the South’s Peace House and served as the de facto liaison office from May 1992. Most inter-Korean talks held in the northern sector of the JSA took place there. In 2018, it hosted six rounds of pre-summit negotiations between then–U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, ahead of the first U.S.–North Korea summit in Singapore.

North Korea has also reportedly removed several stone monuments near the neighboring Panmungak building, which faces South Korea’s Freedom House. “The monuments were inscribed with phrases related to unification,” a government official said.

The changes follow Kim’s declaration in late 2023 that inter-Korean relations now constitute ties between two hostile states. That same month, North Korea withdrew from the September 19 military agreement signed in 2018, which had demilitarized the JSA. Since then, Pyongyang has reinstated guard posts, brought in weapons, and allowed its soldiers to carry sidearms. In response, South Korean troops have also begun carrying pistols with approval from the United Nations Command.


Kyu-Jin Shin newjin@donga.com