Nov 08, 202306:14
The head of state entered the small wooden building in the demilitarized zone, the only meeting point between Seoul and North Korea
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The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarelladuring the state visit to South Korea He transferred to the demilitarized zone 38th parallel that separates Seoul and North Korea. “A crucial side of history took place here,” he said. In this place “we understand that a war that never ended with the achievement of peace brings with it the constant risk of new violence and that what is being done here has the breath of history. It is particularly important to prevent further outbreaks of violence.”
Visiting the wooden building, the only meeting point with Pyongyang The Joint Security Area is the location on the remains of Panmunjon, the small town that developed on the 38th parallel and where negotiations on the agreement ending the Korean War took place between 1951 and 1953. In fact, no real peace agreement was ever reached and this demilitarized zone was created. Even today, the armies of the north and south stand a few dozen meters apart, guarding a short stretch of border that is unfenced and visible only through a low wall a few meters high. The President of the Republic Mattarella was in the small wooden building on the border, the only meeting point between the two nations.
What is there today in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas? The signing of the Panmunjon Armistice, which, as is well known, was never followed by a peace agreement, led to the creation of a demilitarized zone, that is, a strip of land two kilometers north and south of the border from which the armies of each two countries withdrew. Within this area, the Common Security Area today represents a place of great military and political importance. The buildings in which the agreements were made are perfectly divided in half by the border line and painted blue, the color of the United Nations. The table on which the ceasefire agreement was signed is still preserved in the main building. This small complex is now called the “truce village” or “peace village”.
“The apparent calm hides the real danger of war” Lieutenant General Andrew Harrison, deputy commander of the JSA-UN base, accompanied the head of state during the visit and emphasized that “this is a surreal place, because behind the apparent calm and peace there is a real threat of war. History gives us ominous warnings,” he added, recalling “the strong gratitude for Italy’s contribution with a field hospital” during the Korean War, “something that the Koreans do not forget, that they constantly propose.” At that time, in 1953, Italy had not yet been admitted to the United Nations, but still wanted to contribute.
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