Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
South Korean officials prepare for inter-Korean summit in front of the Peace House, the venue of third inter-Korean summit at the South Korea-side of the the border village of Panmunjom between South and North Korea at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on April 18, 2018 in Panmunjom, South Korea.
- Preparations for the Inter-Korea summit on April 27 have been extensive.
- The table the two leaders will sit at will be exactly 2,018 millimeters wide and is designed to look like two bridges merging into one.
- The meeting will take place in South Korea's Peace House which has been completely renovated to seem more "stylish."
- The two countries held a joint rehearsal on Wednesday to ensure each detail was accounted for, including the exact position of the sun during Kim Jong Un's walk across the border.
South Korea is of the belief that you can never be too prepared, organizing each element of its historic summit with North Korea on Friday down to the last millimeter.
At 9.30 a.m. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will walk over the border separating the two countries to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-In before they, and their delegations, walk into South Korea's Peace House.
South Korea Presidential Blue House via AP
A meeting room for the April 27 summit between South and North Korea at the Peace House. In the background is a painting of a North Korean mountain.
The two will enter the main meeting room - which is designed to look like the inside of a traditional Korean house - at the same time, before sitting at a table made to have a symbolic width of 2,018 millimeters.
The new table is also designed to look like two bridges coming together, and is just one part of what will be a symbolism-filled day.
There will be a tree-planting ceremony, with soil and water taken from a mountain and river in each Korea, and a curated dinner menu, where each carefully selected item tells a story about the Koreas and their leaders.
But before all the symbolism, South Korea has been hurriedly renovating the 30-year-old Peace House that will act as the backdrop to the historic meeting and be broadcast live around the world.
The building had red carpets installed, new works of art have been placed, the wallpaper is refreshed, furniture is updated, and fresh paint adorns the corridors to give the place a more "stylish" look. The original blue vinyl entrance has been removed.
There were also significant upgrades made to electronics and security equipment in the building, as well as the creation of a situation room on the third floor.
To prepare for the Inter-Korean summit, South Korea held its own rehearsal on Tuesday and the two countries will do a final walk-through on Thursday.
But the Koreas held a joint rehearsal on Wednesday with no detail left unaccounted-for.
The rehearsal began at the same time of day that Kim will walk across the border line to ensure the sunlight won't interfere with the live broadcast. The two countries then acted out greetings and introductions in the Peace House and both countries checked the setup and location of cameras and spotlights.
But Kim will also be bringing some of his own equipment, as the leader apparently never travels without his own personal toilets.
"The leader's excretions contain information about his health status so they can't be left behind," Lee Yun-keo, a former member of the North Korean Guard Command, told The Washington Post.
While in South Korea, US General Vincent Brooks, who is the head of the UN Command, will be in charge of Kim's security.
But of all the preparations, South Korea has admitted no accommodation has been organized for Kim, indicating there is little-to-no chance of the summit being extended beyond April 27.