hankyoreh

The May 17 test of two train lines that cross the border between the two Koreas is being called a one-time event, as prospects are unclear when the next train will cross the border again, and no timetable has been set between the two Koreas to formally reconnect their railways.

However, as South Korea’s Unification Minister Lee Jae-jung estimated the test-run as a "precious first step on a long journey," the trial run was a stepping stone to eventually build the Trans-Korea Railway and then a railroad connecting the Korean peninsula to the Eurasian continent.

On May 14, the South Korean government said it would gradually and partially reconnect the railways. The government’s three-stage plan first aims to ship raw materials to the Kaesong (Gaeseong) Industrial Complex from the South and serve as transportation for the North Korean workers from their living quarters to the industrial park. Then, the government plans to extend the use of the railways to serve South Korean tourists and workers at the Kaesong industrial park. A third-stage plan is to have a regular railway running between Seoul and Pyongyang.

The unification minister also commented on May 17 about possible travel to the North’s Mount Geumgang tourism complex by train.

Lee’s remarks coupled with the government’s plans signal Seoul’s gradual approach to using the 27.3-kilometer Gyeongui line (Munsan-Kaesong) and the 25.5-kilometer Donghae line (Jejin-Mt. Kumgang) on the east side of the peninsula.

The government has for now backed down on their ambitious vision of connecting the railways with the Trans-Siberia Railway and the Trans-China Railway as well as modernizing the North’s aging tracks.

While North Korean workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex are banned from traveling to the South by train, the test-run was meaningful because the railway is slated to be used at the complex, core inter-Korean economic cooperation project. Because of traffic jams when the more than 13,000 North Korean workers are bused to and from work, the North is not negative to the idea of using the railway for their commute, a South Korean government official said.

However, the South’s plan to reconnect an inter-Korean railway based on the Gyeongui line (Seoul-Pyongyang line) may face compromises and revisions. Unlike the South, the North wants to reconnect the railway based on the Donghae (east coast) line. A 2002 agreement to reconnect the Donghae line was forged because of North Korean leader Kim Jung-il’s willingness toward the project, former unification minister Lim Dong-won said.

The North’s attitude is mainly due to concerns that the Trans-Korea Railway based on the Gyeongui line may pose a negative impact on its regime’s security because the line would cross through major cities, including Pyongyang. In contrast, the Donghae line travels through sparsely populated regions. After all, to materialize the dream of building the Trans-Korea Railway, stabilization of the situation on the Korean peninsula is necessary to let North Korea reform and open its country.

In the wake of the successful test-run of inter-Korean railways, a new wave of inter-Korean economic projects is slated to begin next month by exchanging raw materials for light manufacturing from the South with mineral resources from the North.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]