South Korea to suspend trips to truce village amid Trump-Kim meeting speculations

By Aamir Latif and Riyaz ul Khaliq

KARACHI / ISTANBUL (AA) - South Korea will suspend field trips to the truce village of Panmunjom next week amid speculation that US President Donald Trump may hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump will visit South Korea in late October for the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum leaders set to be held in the southeastern city of Gyeongju.

"There will be no field trips facilitated by the Ministry of Unification from the end of October to the beginning of November," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification confirmed to Anadolu on Monday.

Trump last visited South Korea in June 2019, during his first term, when he met Kim in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Panmunjom.

There is no official confirmation from any side regarding the possible meeting, which Pyongyang has said can happen if the US accepts the nuclear status of North Korea.

"The government of the Republic of Korea actively supports the resumption of dialogue between North Korea and the US, for peace on the Korean Peninsula and stability in Northeast Asia," said an official at the Unification Ministry.

Panmunjom, the truce village, houses inter-Korean conference buildings and a section of the border, only for "policy customers."

"The upcoming suspension comes amid growing speculation that Trump could meet with Kim, possibly at Panmunjom," Yonhap News reported.

Government sources in Seoul have described "the suspension as one of the signs of preparations for a potential US-North Korea meeting," it added.

Trump and Kim held three summits between 2018 and 2019 - the first in Singapore, then in Vietnamese capital Hanoi and later at the DMZ.