German President Joachim Gauck attends an opening ceremony for an exhibition symbolising hopes of reunification near the demilitarised zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.
German President Joachim Gauck attended an opening ceremony on Wednesday (October 14) for the “Unification Platform”, an exhibition representing hopes of a reunification between the two Koreas, held near the demilitarised zone (DMZ) separating the nations.
About 300 people, including South Korean Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo and German Ambassador to South Korea Rolf Mafael, attended the ceremony, which was held at Dorasan Station in Paju, close to the border with North Korea and about 65 kilometres (40 miles) north of Seoul.
“We hope that South Koreans will realise their hopes for unification. Without a strong belief of unification, however, it might not be easy to achieve their dreams. On this meaningful occasion, I would like to congratulate you again. And I especially give a big hand to South Korean president and minister for their efforts,” Gauck said at the ceremony.
Gauck arrived in South Korea on Sunday (October 11) for a four-day visit and held a summit with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday (October 12) in Seoul.
During the exhibition, a train once used for transporting cargo between the two Koreas, a message wall for separated families, war veterans and North Korean defectors, as well as a section of the Berlin Wall, are being put on display, exhibition organizer, Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) said.
The DMZ is a four-kilometre (2.5-mile)-wide buffer fortified with landmines and barbed wire stretching across the Korean peninsula, with more than a million soldiers and heavy military equipment deployed on both sides.
North and South Korea are still technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce without a peace treaty. (Reuters)
