A ferry route linking Sokcho city on the eastern coast of South Korea and Hunchun city of China via the Russian Far East is expected to open in March.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said on December 16 that it has granted a license to a South Korean-Chinese joint venture to operate the ferry service on the condition that it launches a car ferry service and sets up a passenger terminal in Sokcho.

The two countries agreed to provide a car ferry service on the Sokcho-Hunchun route in 1993. The joint venture was allowed to go ahead with the project by the government of the Russian Far East in June.

The new route is expected to stimulate economic exchanges between South Korea, the three northeastern provinces of China and the Russian Far East, said a ministry spokesman.