Two Koreas discuss linking, upgrading highway between capitals
- 6 years ago
After discussing connecting and modernizing railways on Tuesday,.... Seoul and Pyongyang met for the second time in two days... to discuss linking highways this time.
Although it's difficult to expect specific actions because of the international sanctions on Pyongyang,.... the two Koreas are making sure they are ready for possible economic cooperation in the future.
Oh Jung-hee starts us off.
The two Koreas are holding another round of discussions -- this time, on highways -- to prepare for possible future economic cooperation.
The delegations from Seoul and Pyongyang met on Thursday to discuss linking and upgrading highways... after talks on connecting railways on Tuesday.
The talks began at 10AM Korea time,... at the Tongil-gak building, located on the North Korean side of the border village of Panmunjom.
South Korea has sent a three-member delegation led by Vice Minister for Transport, Kim Jeong-ryeol .
And North Korea also has a three-member delegation, led by its vice minister for environmental protection, Pak Ho-yong .
"We'll sincerely take part in today's talks for connecting and modernizing roads. I believe there will be discussions on linking South Korea's Munsan with North Korea's Kaesong -- something we originally agreed upon ten years ago."
The two Koreas worked on building a highway between Munsan and Kaesong in 2015, but it came to a halt after North Korea's fourth nuclear test in early 2016.
If Munsan and Kaesong are linked,... then the capitals, Seoul and Pyongyang, will be connected by highway.
But for the two Koreas to be able to use this road properly, this is not enough.
The highway between Pyongyang and Kaesong will have to be modernized as well.
But, just like Tuesday's talks on railways, it's difficult to expect any specific plans, because bringing South Korea's resources and equipment into North Korea for these projects could violate international sanctions.
So it's expected that the two sides will first agree on forming a joint investigation team to check the status of roads in North Korea.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.
Although it's difficult to expect specific actions because of the international sanctions on Pyongyang,.... the two Koreas are making sure they are ready for possible economic cooperation in the future.
Oh Jung-hee starts us off.
The two Koreas are holding another round of discussions -- this time, on highways -- to prepare for possible future economic cooperation.
The delegations from Seoul and Pyongyang met on Thursday to discuss linking and upgrading highways... after talks on connecting railways on Tuesday.
The talks began at 10AM Korea time,... at the Tongil-gak building, located on the North Korean side of the border village of Panmunjom.
South Korea has sent a three-member delegation led by Vice Minister for Transport, Kim Jeong-ryeol .
And North Korea also has a three-member delegation, led by its vice minister for environmental protection, Pak Ho-yong .
"We'll sincerely take part in today's talks for connecting and modernizing roads. I believe there will be discussions on linking South Korea's Munsan with North Korea's Kaesong -- something we originally agreed upon ten years ago."
The two Koreas worked on building a highway between Munsan and Kaesong in 2015, but it came to a halt after North Korea's fourth nuclear test in early 2016.
If Munsan and Kaesong are linked,... then the capitals, Seoul and Pyongyang, will be connected by highway.
But for the two Koreas to be able to use this road properly, this is not enough.
The highway between Pyongyang and Kaesong will have to be modernized as well.
But, just like Tuesday's talks on railways, it's difficult to expect any specific plans, because bringing South Korea's resources and equipment into North Korea for these projects could violate international sanctions.
So it's expected that the two sides will first agree on forming a joint investigation team to check the status of roads in North Korea.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.