North Korea and South Korea Begin Talks on Linking Railways and Roads

FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

North Korea and South Korea Begin Talks on Linking Railways and Roads

June 28, 2018 (EIRNS)— Senior officials from transport agencies of North Korea and South Korea began talks today on linking the two countries’ motor roads to make it possible to travel from Pyongyang to Seoul by car, Yonhap news agency reported.

On June 26, North Korea and South Korea held talks on connecting the railways that run across their border, a physical link that would transform the relationship between the two sides of the divided peninsula, AFP reported. Both these discussions are taking place in the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone.

AFP, in its coverage, reported that a rail line already exists between Seoul and Pyongyang and on to Sinuiju on the Chinese border, originally built by Japan in the early 20th century, long before the Korean War and decades of division.

“Linking up these two systems—and modernizing the North’s aging rail infrastructure—would give trade-dependent South Korea a land route to the markets of China, Russia and on to Europe,”

AFP reported.

Meanwhile, Global Competition Review cited a recently released research note prepared by Citigroup that quantified the cost of upgrading North Korea’s infrastructure to the level of the South.

“Citigroup estimated that a total of $63 billion would be needed, of which $24 billion would be spent on 28 rail projects, $23 billion would be required for 33 road projects, $10 billion would go on 16 power plants and the remainder would be spent on other schemes,”

GCR reported.