North Korea Screens Panmungak Building in Panmunjom for Renovation

North Korean military sources said the regime has erected large screens around the Panmungak building in the Joint Security Area of Panmunjom. The screens, put up in April, are intended to block the three‑story structure from view while renovation work is carried out.

Panmungak, built in 1969 and situated 80 metres north of the Military Demarcation Line, houses a guard command post and the “pink phone,” a direct hotline between North Korea and the United Nations Command that oversees the Korean Armistice Agreement. The facility has previously hosted high‑profile inter‑Korean events, including the 2018 summit between President Moon Jae‑in and leader Kim Jong‑un. Pyongyang, which has repeatedly described the two Koreas as hostile states, has used similar screen installations during past renovation phases.

The move underscores the continued military and diplomatic tension in the demilitarized zone, as the screened building faces South Korea’s Freedom House across the truce village.