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PANMUNJOM
Not Even aNicePlace toVisit
aste of North Korea is avail–
ble by means of a visit to the
truce city of Panmunjom in
the Korean demilitarized zone
(DMZ), the only place in Asia
where American and Communist
troops directly confront each other
on a daily basis. About 30 miles
north of Seoul, Panmunjom líes as–
tride the demarcation line that di–
vides the two Koreas.
We were driven there in a prívate
car by a representative of the Ko–
rean Chamber of Commerce.
(lt
is
also possible to visit the village, as
do about 1,000 tourists a month. via
one of the daily, six-hour bus tours
arranged by the Korean Tourist Bu–
reau and conducted under the su–
pervision ofthe U.N. Command.)
The atmosphere in Panmunjom is
tense. An eerie quiet pervades the
area. Stern-faced, jack-booted
North Korean guards carefully scru–
tinize al! incoming visitors, watching
closely for any actions which they
might construe as a "provocation"
against the North. For example. in–
side the Military Armistice Com–
mittee (MAC) building, in which
most of the talks between the two
sides take place, we were solemnly
warned by a U.S. officer against
touching even the microphones on
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1977
the table, since they were North Ko–
rean property.
A few yards south of the MAC
building is South Korea's Freedom
House, complete with a tower one
may climb to see over into the
North. Not to be outdone. the North
Koreans not long ago erected a
counterpart building of their own.
lt
is exactly one meter taller and one
meter wider than the F reedom
House. Nevertheless it is a sham
building, as phony as the facades on
a movie lot at Universal Studios.
Ostensibly two stories tall. it has
only one room downstairs. we were
told, that has actually been com–
pleted. The nonrooms on the second
slory are all covered with drapes.
Otherwise one might peer through
to the rolling Norlh Korean coun–
tryside.
It
was in lhe DMZ near Pan–
munjom that two unarmed U.S. of–
ficers were axed lo dealh by North
Korean soldiers in August 1976,
while attempting to lrim a lree near
the "Bridge of No Return." which
links North and Soulh Korea. Last
July. tensions were again heigbt–
ened along the DMZ when North
Koreans shot down an unarmed
U.S. helicopter which had inadvert–
ently strayed over the border. A to-
tal of 57 Americans have died in
incidents along the DMZ since the
signing of the 1953 armistice.
The abrupt and drastic reactions
of trigger-happy North Korean
troops in these incidents bear wit–
ness to the "shoot-first, ask-ques–
tions-later" mentality inslilled into
them by a regime filled with irra–
tional and all-consuming hatred of
both Soulh Korea and the Ameri–
can .. imperialists."
After having visited Panmunjom,
we could well apprecíate the senti–
ments of G lasgow
L.
Reynolds, an
American teacher in Seoul, who
wrote recently in the
Korea Herald:
"I have seen such spitting. maniac
laughter and gesluring by the brain–
washed Norlh Korean soldiers [at
Panmunjom] lo convince me lhat we
cannot expect Kim 11-sung [Norlh
Korea's dictator] to act rationally toa
troop withdrawal. Will my country's
leaders and decision-makers be so
naive asto expect a rational response?
The only way to deal with irrational–
ity is to restrain or subdue it, which
has been the role of the American
forces since first setting foot on Ko–
rean soil. Polished language in Wash–
inglon will never solve anything.
It
will never make the wilhdrawal safe
and right."
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