Two Koreas to discuss inter-Korean rail connection, modernization on Tuesday
- 6 years ago
The two Koreas are sitting down for yet another round of discussions today.
It's about connecting and modernizing existing railways between Seoul and Pyongyang.
We have our unification ministry correspondent Oh Jung-hee on the line.
Jung-hee, what can you tell us?
Semin, we're expecting the talks to have just started.
Today's meeting was scheduled to begin at 10AM Korea time, a few minutes ago,... at the Peace House, located on the South Korean side of the border village of Panmunjom.
The South Korean delegation left from Seoul's Office for Inter-Korean Dialogue at 7:30 this morning.
The delegation highlighted they'll discuss some practical issues with the North Korean delegation on connecting and modernizing railways -- all part of implementing April's Panmunjom Declaration.
"There are a lot of things we can push forward once the international sanctions are lifted... and therefore, a lot of things have to be investigated and prepared beforehand. We'll try and set a solid enough foundation for our prospective cooperation."
This is the first time for the two Koreas to discuss railways since 2008.
And today's talks are meaningful in that the two Koreas are now expanding their discussions from denuclearization, sports, and humanitarian issues to economic cooperation as well.
They have one railway connected in 2004 -- between the South Korean capital Seoul and North Korean city of Sinuiju -- but renovation is needed to modernize it.
And in addition to that railway, South and North Korea are hoping to connect their railway along the eastern coast of the peninsula -- which would start off from South Korea's southeastern city of Busan, cut through North Korea and even Russia, then head towards Europe.
And for that, the two Koreas will have to find a way to modernize North Korean railroads which are very old and low-speed.
This will be of a great meaning as South Korea will be connected to the continent, enabling the movement of people and logistics to the continent by train.
But it's difficult to expect some specific actions to be taken by the two Koreas to actually connect and modernize their railways because of the international sanctions currently imposed on North Korea.
So, if Seoul and Pyongyang see some progress today, they're expected to agree on investigating the current railroad status and joint studies on how to modernize them.
Semin.
It's about connecting and modernizing existing railways between Seoul and Pyongyang.
We have our unification ministry correspondent Oh Jung-hee on the line.
Jung-hee, what can you tell us?
Semin, we're expecting the talks to have just started.
Today's meeting was scheduled to begin at 10AM Korea time, a few minutes ago,... at the Peace House, located on the South Korean side of the border village of Panmunjom.
The South Korean delegation left from Seoul's Office for Inter-Korean Dialogue at 7:30 this morning.
The delegation highlighted they'll discuss some practical issues with the North Korean delegation on connecting and modernizing railways -- all part of implementing April's Panmunjom Declaration.
"There are a lot of things we can push forward once the international sanctions are lifted... and therefore, a lot of things have to be investigated and prepared beforehand. We'll try and set a solid enough foundation for our prospective cooperation."
This is the first time for the two Koreas to discuss railways since 2008.
And today's talks are meaningful in that the two Koreas are now expanding their discussions from denuclearization, sports, and humanitarian issues to economic cooperation as well.
They have one railway connected in 2004 -- between the South Korean capital Seoul and North Korean city of Sinuiju -- but renovation is needed to modernize it.
And in addition to that railway, South and North Korea are hoping to connect their railway along the eastern coast of the peninsula -- which would start off from South Korea's southeastern city of Busan, cut through North Korea and even Russia, then head towards Europe.
And for that, the two Koreas will have to find a way to modernize North Korean railroads which are very old and low-speed.
This will be of a great meaning as South Korea will be connected to the continent, enabling the movement of people and logistics to the continent by train.
But it's difficult to expect some specific actions to be taken by the two Koreas to actually connect and modernize their railways because of the international sanctions currently imposed on North Korea.
So, if Seoul and Pyongyang see some progress today, they're expected to agree on investigating the current railroad status and joint studies on how to modernize them.
Semin.