hankyoreh

South Korean Minister of Unification Cho Myoung-gyon (right) and North Korean Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland Chairman Ri Son-gwon shake hands before their high-level talks at the House of Peace in the South Korean area of Panmunjom on Oct. 15. (photo pool)

South and North Korea have reached a rough agreement about the schedule of the groundbreaking ceremony for a project to connect the two sides’ roads and railway networks. The high-level talks held on Oct. 15 also settled the schedule of sports talks aimed at promoting the joint hosting of the Olympics and Red Cross talks designed to arrange reunions for families divided by the Korean War.

In the talks, the two sides also agreed to hold military general-level talks to discuss the issue of easing military tension. The rapid agreement on the schedule of the follow-up talks in various areas suggests that the implementation of the Pyongyang Joint Statement announced in September is picking up speed.

What appears to be the biggest result of the high-level talks is that it cleared away some of the uncertainty about the project to connect the roads and railways, which can be described as the first step toward inter-Korean cooperation and the construction of an economic community on the Korean Peninsula. That speaks to the symbolism of this project, as well as how much interest it holds for South and North Korea.

On this point, the leaders of South and North Korea agreed during their summit in Pyongyang last month to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for connecting the roads and railways along the East Sea and the West Sea before the end of the year. During the high-level talks, South and North Korea narrowed down the timing of the groundbreaking to late November or early December and agreed to launch the on-site joint survey of the North Korean section of the roads and railways on the Gyeongui (Seoul-Sinuiju) Line at the end of this month and on the East Sea Line at the beginning of the next.

Considering that both the surveys will have to be completed in just over a month in order for the groundbreaking to be held on schedule, there’s no time to lose. South and North Korea need to make haste on implementing the points agreed upon.

South and North Korea had originally attempted to carry out an on-site survey of the northern section of the Gyeongui railroad line at the end of August, but that was thwarted by the UN Command, which refused to approve the survey. In order to prevent a reccurence, the South Korean government needs to deliberate closely with the US to forestall any obstacles. It will be necessary to convince the US that the development of inter-Korean relations is an element that will promote the North’s denuclearization.

The likely reason the two sides were unable to nail down the date of the groundbreaking was that developments on the Korean Peninsula remain in flux. The speed of progress on inter-Korean relations will inevitably be affected by the questions of when the upcoming second North Korea-US summit is held and what progress is made there. As the facilitator of North Korea-US negotiations, Seoul needs to do everything necessary for the summit to be held quickly and get results.

In the words of the chief envoys from the two sides (South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and North Korean Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland Chairman Ri Son-gwon), it’s important for South and North Korea to sign agreements but even more important for them to actually carry out those agreements. We hope that the points agreed upon in this meeting will be smoothly put into action and that we will soon see the day when South and North Korea’s roads and railways are made one.

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