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South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul presides over a meeting of the government’s Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council at the Central Government Complex in Seoul on Apr. 23. (Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer)

A project to construct a Donghae Bukbu (Northern) railway line section between Gangneung and Jejin -- a portion of the Donghae Line that is currently absent on the South Korean side -- was recognized on Apr. 23 as an inter-Korean exchange and cooperation project by the South Korean government, which finalized plans for its pursuit.

The groundwork for an early launch of the Gangneung-Jejin railway construction project was established through procedures to have it exempted from a pre-feasibility study according to the National Finance Act. Minister of Unification Kim Yeon-chul said the project was “significant in establishing an independent space for South Korea in inter-Korean relations” amid the pursuit of Seoul’s North Korea policy and the Korean Peninsula peace process.

Groundbreaking for inter-Korean roads and railways within 2019

On Apr. 23, the South Korean government held the 313th meeting of its inter-Korean exchange and cooperation pursuit council, which was presided over by Kim at the Central Government Complex in Seoul. During the meeting, a plan to establish a single-track railway over the absent 110.9-km Donghae Bukbu section from Gangneung to Jejin -- with stops at Namgangneung, Jumunjin, Yangyang, Gangseong, and Jejin Station -- was recognized as an inter-Korean exchange and cooperation project.

“We’re at a time now that calls for sustaining momentum in inter-Korean exchange and cooperation and establishing opportunities to improve inter-Korean relations,” Kim said.

Commenting on the significance of the Gangneung-Jejin linkage project in terms of inter-Korean relations and Northeast Asia, he said it “signifies the completion of a continental railway network for the realization of a peace economy.” In terms of its significance for South Korea, he said it “holds meaning as part of the ‘Korean Peninsula New Deal,’ in that it will help revitalize the local economy and contribute greatly to balanced national development.”

Once construction of the Gangneung-Jejin section is complete, the Donghae Railway across the Korean Peninsula will no longer have any missing sections and can extend from Tumangang Station to the Trans-Siberian Railway and from Namyang Station to the Trans-Manchurian Railway and the Trans-China Railway. Domestically, the South Korean government said it anticipates contributing to improving distribution and promoting the tourism industry and industry complexes through encouragement of an east-west railway network that links the Seoul Capital Area with Gangwon Province. The network would include lines that connect Wonju and Gangneung (currently in operation) and Chuncheon and Sokcho (scheduled for opening in 2027).

The government plans to hold a “Donghae Bukbu Line commemoration ceremony” at Jejin Station in Goseong County, Gangwon Province, on Apr. 27, which marks the second anniversary of the inter-Korean Panmunjom Declaration.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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