Koreas agree to hold ceremony to link rail and roads late Nov. or early Dec.

Oct 16, 2018, 09:43 am

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South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon (Third from left) speaks at inter-Korean high-level talks held at the southern side of Panmunjom on Monday./ Source: Joint Press Corps

By AsiaToday reporter Heo Go-woon & Joint Press Corps

South and North Korea on Monday held high-level talks that saw a host of agreements, including a plan to hold a groundbreaking ceremony this year to connect their railways and roads. The September Pyongyang Declaration announced by President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to be implemented swiftly.

The two Koreas held high-level talks in the Peace House, a South Korean building in the truce village of Panmunjom, and issued a joint press release on the agreements reached at the talks to implement the Pyongyang Declaration.

First, the two Koreas decided to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for connecting and modernizing rail and road systems along the eastern and western regions either in late November or early December. To this end, a joint on-site survey of the Gyeongui railway line will be carried out from late October and the Donghae railway line from early November. The two sides decided to finalize the schedule of the joint road investigation on the East and West Coast by exchanging documents.

Initially, the two Koreas tried to conduct a site survey on the Northern section of the Gyeongui railway line in late August by mobilizing South Korean experts and trains, but the United Nations Command refused to approve the South Koreans’ travel across the military demarcation line. The Koreas decided to make preparations with concerned countries and organizations in order to allow the on-site survey to go ahead without any setbacks.

The South and the North also agreed to hold general-level military talks in the near future and discuss the issues of ending military hostilities in the confrontation areas, including the demilitarized zones, in accordance with the military section of the Panmunjom Declaration, as well as the establishment and work of the joint military commission.

“The two Koreas have tentatively agreed to hold the general-level meeting right after minesweeping in the Joint Security Area (JSA) is completed on October 20,” Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said in a briefing shortly after the high-level talks.

The two sides agreed to hold a meeting on October 22 at the South-North Joint Liaison Office to discuss prevention of pine wilt, modernization of a tree nursery and protection and restoration of the ecosystem. They will also hold a meeting on healthcare and medicine in late October at the Joint Liaison Office to discuss how to prevent the influx and spread of infectious diseases.

They will actively participate in international sports events including the 2020 Olympic Summer Games, and will hold inter-Korean sports talks at the end of October to discuss the joint hosting of the 2032 Olympic Summer Games.

And the two countries will hold Red Cross talks in Mt. Geumgang in November to discuss the renovation of the facilities for reunion of separated families, video-conference meetings and video exchanges of separated families.

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