Summit Countdown

[Anchor Lead]

In just two weeks, the leaders of South and North Korea will meet for the third inter-Korean summit at the border truce village of Panmunjeom. Tension and anticipation are in the air at the Joint Security Area. Authorities organizing the summit on both sides of the border are pouring over the details of security, protocol and logistics.

[Pkg]

Panmunjeom is located just nine kilometers away or a ten-minute drive from the Unification Bridge, the northernmost access point to North Korea. Ten-centimeter-high concrete bumps divide the Panmungak building in the North Korean side and the House of Freedom in the south. North Korean guards disappear as South Korean reporters show up. With the summit fast approaching, the House of Peace, the summit venue, is seeing an increasing number of visitors.

[Soundbite] JSA Security Guard : "This is a joint visitation area, so when South Korean visitors are here, South Korean soldiers stand guard, and vice versa."

The Gaeseong Industrial Complex has been shut down for more than two years now and North Koreans riding bicycles can be seen from a sentry post. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to use this narrow road, the only land route leading to Panmunjeom. Only two weeks are left until the two leaders come to face each other at Panmunjeom, where armistice talks were held and the Cold War still persists.