The persistent rain did not dent the enthusiasm of Embassy officers and staff and their families as they set off early to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at the northern border of the Republic of Korea on 21 August 2012, an embassy holiday for the Eid celebration. H.E. Ambassador Dato’ Ramlan Ibrahim and Datin Hafipah Mohd Shah also participated in the educational trip organized by the Defence Attaché. The seven-car convoy arrived at Panmunjeom at 8.40 am and was quickly escorted by the ROK military to Camp Bonifas where a briefing on the DMZ was given. After this, the team was taken to the Joint Security Area (JSA) where negotiations between the North and South are held. The tour then continued to an observatory where visitors can peek at North Korean territory and then to one of the many North Korean infiltration tunnels into South Korean territory. The DMZ is a strip of land across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea which runs along the 38th parallel north. It is 248 km long and 4 km wide, two km on either side of the Military Demarcation Line. The visit was an eye-opener; participants of the trip were able to appreciate the harrowing experience of the Korean people who had to accept a war settlement that divided a country and its people in two. The DMZ could be regarded as the two Koreas’ legacy of hope – for a peaceful and united country.
| The entrance to the Joint Security Area (JSA) in Panmunjeom. |