Koreas Examine Railway Links
2003-06-12
Armed forces personnel from South and North Korea crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) on Wednesday (June 11) for the first time since the 1950-1953 Korean War to inspect each other's progress on reconnecting transportation links in the west and east of the peninsula, the Defense Ministry said.
At 9 a.m., two 10-member teams from South and North Korea crossed the MDL to check work on the re-linking of the Gyeongui (Seoul-Sinuiju) and Donghae (East Sea) railway lines and adjacent highways, which began last September.
The delegations checked the overall condition of the cross-border projects, including the completion of the de-mining process in the heavily fortified area.
The Defense Ministry said it is cooperating closely with the U.N. Command (UNC) to ensure that the inspections are conducted properly and military assurances are provided, adding that the inspections will help to guarantee the success of the reconnection projects.
Seoul's repeated attempts to conduct the inspections on the railway construction sites since last November failed due to Pyongyang's demand that the UNC play no part in the inspection procedures.
The two Koreas are to conduct a symbolic re-linking ceremony connecting 25-meter sections of both the Gyeongui and Donghae lines closest to the border Saturday (June 14).
Source : www.korea.net
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
