On May 19, according to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's Ministry of Unification stated on the 19th that North Korea has renamed the landmark building "Unification Pavilion" on the North Korean side of Panmunjom on the North Korean border to "Panmen Pavilion". This move is regarded as the latest trend of Pyongyang's acceleration of "de-unification" policy, further highlighting the tension between the two countries.
South Korea Unification Ministry spokesman Ju Bingsan said at a briefing on the day that it was confirmed that North Korea had replaced the building plaque in August 2024, but the South Korean side only completed the verification recently. He said the name change is consistent with North Korea's policy direction since last year to define South Korea as a "hostile country" and systematically clear the symbol of north-south unification. This building is located in the North Korean area of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) Joint Security Zone and has been used as a venue for high-level talks between North Korea and South Korea on many occasions.
"North Korea seems to be completely cutting off its connection with South Korea from the ideological to the entity level." Gu Bingshan emphasized that the North Korean side demolished the plaque with the original "Unified Pavilion" as early as January 2024.
This renamed building is famous for its historic event in 2018—and then South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held their second summit meeting here, promising to promote the peace process on the peninsula. A few months ago, Kim Jong-un and then-US President Trump held their first North Korea-US summit in Singapore.
From the 2019 North-South relations have continued to deteriorate. North Korea frequently tests missiles, while South Korea strengthens its military deployment. In February this year, the Supreme People's Congress of North Korea passed a resolution to abolish multiple dialogue institutions against South Korea and clearly regard South Korea as the "number one hostile country."
As of press time, North Korea has not commented on the name change. As the signing place of the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement, Panmunjom has always been the core symbol of the current separatist situation on the peninsula.
Editor in charge: Li Xia
