UNC considering resuming tours to Panmunjom amid eased social distancing scheme

The United Nations Command (UNC) said Monday that it has been exploring ways to resume tours to the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, as South Korea eased antivirus social distancing rules.

Tours to Panmunjom, or the Joint Security Area (JSA), were suspended in December amid the COVID-19 pandemic, just a month after the program resumed following a yearlong suspension over concerns about African swine fever.

"With the ROK government relaxing social distancing measures to Level 2.0, UNC has began exploring options for resuming tours to the Joint Security Area in a safe manner," UNC said in a Facebook post, using the acronym for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

The Seoul government decided to ease social distancing by one notch to Level 2, the third highest in a five-tier system, for the greater Seoul area, and Level 1.5 for the rest of the country, for two weeks starting Monday, though the authorities have kept tight vigilance to curb COVID-19.

"Once we have determined a plan that offers adequate COVID mitigation, we will announce when and how tours will restart," it added.

The US-led command administers Panmunjom and the broader DMZ as an enforcer of the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.

Under the program, visitors can look around the JSA and several other sites inside the DMZ separating the two Koreas.

On Monday, the country reported 344 more COVID-19 cases, including 323 local infections, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload stayed in the 300s for the third consecutive day on fewer tests during the Lunar New Year holiday. (Yonhap)