[Joint Press Corps.]
SEOUL -- On the sidelines of a historic summit this week, South and North Korean leaders will hold a joint event to plant a pine tree together in the middle of the heavily armed border, symbolizing their wish for peace and prosperity on the divided Korean peninsula.
The summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will take place on Friday after Kim walked across the borderline into the southern side of Panmunjom, a joint security area inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) which bisects the peninsula.
After a lunch break, Moon and Kim will walk out to plant a pine tree on the military demarcation line (MDL). The tree was sprouted in 1953 when the three-year Korean War ended in an armistice, Moon's chief of staff Im Jong-seok, told reporters, adding pine trees are loved by Koreans and symbolize peace and prosperity.
After planting the tree using a mixture of soils from Mount. Halla on the southern island of Jeju and Mount. Baekdu near the border with China, the two leaders will use water each from the rivers that run through Seoul and Pyongyang.
The stone plaque for the tree will be engraved with the autographs of the two leaders and a phrase reading "Peace and prosperity is planted here!"
After the tree-planting ceremony, Moon and Kim will stroll to a bridge built on the wetlands inside the buffer zone and back to the summit venue for afternoon talks.
Such an event is very rare in Panmunjom, which has been put under the jurisdiction of American troops which fought alongside South Korea under the United Nations flag to repel North Korean and Chinese troops and signed the truce accord.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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