South Korea breaks ground to restore severed inter-Korean railroad
- 9 years ago
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South Korea has marked the groundbreaking of a project to restore an inter-Korean railroad that has been severed since the division of the two Koreas 70 years ago.
The 220-kilometer-long Gyeongwon Line, which opened in 1914, was mainly used to transport goods from Seoul's Yongsan Station to Wonsan City now in North Korea.
After the railway was severed in 1945 and partially destroyed during the Korean War, the South Korean government first restored the five-and-a-half-kilometer section connecting the South's Sintanni and Baengmagoji in 2012.
The latest project will restore the line from Baengmagoji to the South's northernmost area closest to the Military Demarcation Line.
The South Korean government plans to complete work on the rest of the line stretching into the North, after reaching an agreement with Pyongyang.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Park Geun-hye said re-connecting the railroad will help heal the Korean people's wounds from their division and offer a starting point for the two Koreas' unification.
She also expressed hopes for the restored railway to contribute to the success of her so-called "Eurasia Initiative" of linking logistics and energy infrastructure across the two continents.
South Korea has marked the groundbreaking of a project to restore an inter-Korean railroad that has been severed since the division of the two Koreas 70 years ago.
The 220-kilometer-long Gyeongwon Line, which opened in 1914, was mainly used to transport goods from Seoul's Yongsan Station to Wonsan City now in North Korea.
After the railway was severed in 1945 and partially destroyed during the Korean War, the South Korean government first restored the five-and-a-half-kilometer section connecting the South's Sintanni and Baengmagoji in 2012.
The latest project will restore the line from Baengmagoji to the South's northernmost area closest to the Military Demarcation Line.
The South Korean government plans to complete work on the rest of the line stretching into the North, after reaching an agreement with Pyongyang.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Park Geun-hye said re-connecting the railroad will help heal the Korean people's wounds from their division and offer a starting point for the two Koreas' unification.
She also expressed hopes for the restored railway to contribute to the success of her so-called "Eurasia Initiative" of linking logistics and energy infrastructure across the two continents.