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South Korean President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech at a celebration of Korea’s 73rd Liberation Day at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul on Aug. 15 (Blue House photo pool)

On Aug. 15, South Korean President Moon Jae-in unveiled the East Asian Railway Community Initiative that would involve the six countries of Northeast Asia, namely South Korea, North Korea, China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia, in addition to the US. This represents a plan to expand inter-Korean economic cooperation into a multilateral system for peace and security and an economic community in East Asia. Moon also announced a plan to set up “special unification economic zones” in the border regions of Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces.

Moon made the remarks during a congratulatory speech for Liberation Day – this year being the 73rd anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese occupation – at the National Museum of Korea, in Yongsan, Seoul.

“Today, here at Yongsan, which used to be the starting point of the Gyeongui Line and the Gangwon Line, I propose a railway community in East Asia in which the six countries of Northeast Asia, along with the US, would participate,” Moon said.

“This community will extend our economic horizon into the lands to the north and will become the principal artery of coexistence and co-prosperity in Northeast Asia. This will lead to an energy community and economic community in East Asia and will be the starting point for a multilateral peace and security system in Northeast Asia.”

“Our goal is to hold a ground-breaking ceremony within the year to link the roads and railways as agreed in the Panmunjom Declaration on Apr. 27. Linking the roads and railways is the beginning of co-prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.”

The ultimate goal of the plan for an East Asia railway community that Moon proposed on Wednesday is a multilateral peace and security regime in Northeast Asia.

“This community will extend our economic horizon into the lands to the north and will become the principal artery of coexistence and co-prosperity in Northeast Asia. This will lead to an energy community and economic community in East Asia and will be the starting point for a multilateral peace and security system in Northeast Asia,” Moon said. The plan includes South Korea, North Korea, China, Russia, Mongolia, Japan and the US.

The plan would expand the inter-Korean economic community that Moon has often proposed into a Northeast Asian economic and security community, and it significantly dovetails with major policies in the countries concerned.

East Asia railway community initiative

Some time ago, the Moon administration laid out the New Economy Map Initiative for the Korean Peninsula. This economic plan envisioned three belts along the Korean Peninsula that join in the shape of an H: a “West Sea logistics industry belt” connecting the capital regions in South and North Korea with Kaesong and Sinuiju, an “East Sea energy resources belt” connecting the Korean Peninsula with China and Russia and a “border region belt” along the DMZ.

A large number of the five special economic zones and the 22 economic development zones that North Korea has established as bases of the economic reforms and opening promoted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are located in the “H” region outlined in the plan for a new economy on the Korean Peninsula. During the plenary session of the central committee of the Workers’ Party of North Korea (WPK) on Apr. 20, Kim declared the end of the “two track” policy of simultaneously promoting nuclear and economic development and a strategic shift toward building a powerful economy.

This declaration has further enhanced the significance of these regions. This was incorporated into Article 1 of the Apr. 27 Panmunjom Declaration, and South and North Korea have been promoting a project to connect and modernize roads and railways on the East Sea Line and the Gyeongui Line.

“President Moon’s plan for the East Asia railway community will be able to quickly create synergy by meshing with China’s One Belt, One Road program, Russia’s New Eastern Policy and Mongolia’s Prairie Road Program,” said a senior official at the Blue House.

Moon’s plan has commonalities with One Belt, One Road, the key strategy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, which is designed to connect overland and maritime logistics infrastructure in Asia, Europe and Africa. Russia’s New Eastern Policy, which is focused on developing Russia’s Far East region, would involve not just bilateral cooperation with South Korea but also trilateral cooperation with both South and North Korea. Although Japan has failed to make any concrete progress on its “northern territory” dispute with Russia (concerning the four southernmost islands in the Kuril Islands), the two countries have been working on plans to link the Japanese railway network to the Trans-Siberian Railway and to lay gas pipelines.

Significantly, there has been rapid progress on railway cooperation. In June, South Korea became an official member of the Organization for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD) with North Korea’s support. This effectively laid the legal and institutional foundation for implementing the plan for an East Asia railroad community. During a meeting in Tokyo this past May, South Korea and China discussed a railway link between Seoul, Sinuiju and Beijing, while South Korea and Russia have completed their deliberations about a railway link between Rajin and Khasan.

“It would be possible to integrate the region by linking the region’s railways to enable the smooth flow of personnel and material. This would help promote economies, culture and peace,” said Ahn Byeong-min, a senior researcher with the Korea Transport Institute. Ahn said that cooperation would play an important role in “the process of overcoming the lack of standardization in the region’s railway systems.”

Moon’s mention of the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community by six European countries, which was the forerunner of the European Union, is also being understood in this context.

“President Moon announced a plan for an East Asia railway community that will be a community of peace and prosperity for the whole of Northeast Asia, from the continent of Eurasia to the Pacific Ocean,” said a senior official at the Blue House.

The inclusion of the US in the plan for an East Asia railway community is understood to be deliberately aimed at minimizing potential resistance from the US, given its strategic rivalry with China over the region.

“The ultimate objective of the East Asia railway community is a multilateral security system in Northeast Asia. US cooperation and involvement are essential because the US is important not only for peace on the Korean Peninsula but also for a multilateral security regime in Northeast Asia,” the Blue House official said.

By Kim Ji-eun and Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporters

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