hankyoreh

Fifth-six years after division, a cargo train will cross the border dividing South and North Korea every day beginning December 11.

In the first round of working-level meetings of the South-North Rail Cooperation Committee, held in Gaeseong (Kaesong) on November 22, South and North Korea agreed to run the daily cargo train on a route linking Munsan in the South Korean city of Paju and Bongdong in the North Korean city of Gaeseong.

South and North Korea plan to hold a ceremony on December 11, the first day that the railway is reopened. It will be the first regular train service between North and South since the rail track was severed in July 1951, in the midst of the Korean War.

A cargo train will run the route of about 20 kilometers, from Munsan station to Bongdong station, which is close to the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, after passing stations at Imjin River and Dorasan, the military demarcation line, and stations at Panmun and Sonha. Customs inspections will be carried out at the Dorasan station, the South’s last railway station on the western line. The train will transport cargo to and from the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.

Offices will be set up at Dorasan station and the North’s Panmun station, for the smooth operation of the cargo train. South Korea agreed to provide raw materials and equipment, in the form of loans, to North Korea to complete the reconnection of the rail track. Meanwhile, the South Korean government is building various facilities, including a large-scale container yard, buildings for customs and quarantine services, to facilitate the border crossings.

South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said, “In the wake of the daily cargo train service, South and North Korea have agreed in principle to expand the service to passengers and reconnect the Donghae line. A military agreement on security arrangements (which are necessary for the border crossing) will be discussed at the inter-Korean defense ministerial meeting on November 27-29.”

The effort to connect the railways is the first in what the two Koreas hope will be a series of steps leading to connections with the Trans-Siberian and Trans-China railways, greatly facilitating the exchange of goods and services between North and South Korea, China, Russia and Europe.

South and North Korea have also agreed to carry out a joint field survey from December 12 to 18, in preparation for repairing the railway between Gaeseong and Sinuiju. This section of the railway will be connected to the larger Seoul-Sinuiju line, which will be used to transport a joint cheering squad to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Details about the repair and maintenance will be discussed at a later date.



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