Inter-Korean Railway Talks End with Five-point Agreement

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, January 25, 2003

Inter-Korean Railway Talks End with Five-point Agreement

The inter-Korean talks on construction of cross-border railways and roads ended Saturday in Pyongyang with a five-point agreement, reported South Korean national news agency Yonhap News here.

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The inter-Korean talks on construction of cross-border railways and roads ended Saturday in Pyongyang with a five-point agreement, reported South Korean national news agency Yonhap News here.

The South Korean delegation led by Cho Myoung-gyun arrived in the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday and began the meeting with its DPRK counterpart on Thursday.

According to the agreement, the two parties will complete laying rails on the Gyeongui (Seoul-Sinuiju) and Donghae (East Coast) lines from the military demarcation line (DML) toward their respective territories as early as possible.

The two sides agreed to discuss other technical matters dealing with the reconnection in later contacts.

On the necessary materials and equipment for the work, South Korea and the DPRK agreed to cooperate closely according to the work schedule.

The two sides will exchange documents on on-site inspections to decide on the opening of checkpoint offices and the installation of signals, and communication and electricity networks, according to the agreement.

South Korea and the DPRK were locked in discussions late into Friday night hoping to set a deadline for the reconnection work. But they failed to narrow difference on it.

The two countries on the Korean Peninsula earlier had agreed to complete the reconnection of the Gyeongui railway and its adjacent roads by the end of last year and the spring of 2003 respectively.

They had also agreed to reconnect the initial 27 km line of the Donghae railway, linking eastern coastal cities across the border, and its 14.2 km adjacent road within an one-year time span from last September.

But the timetable was put off by row between the DPRK military authority and the so-called US-led United Nations Command (UNC) on whether the cross border corridors under the jurisdiction of UNC in the southern part of the demilitarized zone (DMZ).

The South Korean delegation will return from Pyongyang to Seoulon Saturday.

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