Vice unification minister to visit DMZ village for cultural heritage site research

SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho will visit a village on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone this week with a research panel working to inscribe the area as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, officials said Monday.

Suh's trip Tuesday to Daeseongdong, the only civilian village located within the DMZ in South Korea, comes amid Seoul's push to inscribe the cross-border zone on the list of U.N.-designated world heritage sites jointly with North Korea.

The Cultural Heritage Administration plans to conduct research for a year. During the trip, Suh will be briefed on the administration's research plan and encourage related officials to do a good job, officials said.

The ministry said it will actively support the cultural heritage research project in cooperation with the defense ministry, the United Nations Command and other relevant government ministries.

In September last year, President Moon Jae-in had proposed his plan to turn the tense DMZ into a global peace zone during his keynote speech at the U.N. General Assembly.

julesyi@yna.co.kr
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