Seoul to Check on North Korean Railways
2003-08-06
A presidential committee said Tuesday it will check the conditions of North Korean railways next year to make sure they are suitable for inter-Korean trains, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
An official from the Presidential Committee on the Northeast Asian Business Hub Plan told Yonhap that South Korea needs to conduct a facility assessment and plans to work with Japan, China and Russia on the possibility of an intercontinental rail system.
“There hasn't been any inspection of the North Korean railroads. We need direct inspections to determine the cost of modernizing the tracks,” the official said.
South and North Korea are close to re-linking the railroads severed during the 1950-53 Korean War, and one of them, the Gyeongui Line, is expected to be completed late next month. The Donghae Line, which runs along the eastern coast, is due to be finished by end of the year.
Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun said last month that Russia proposed inspecting the North Korean tracks in exchange for debt reduction to South Korea.
Source : www.korea.net
