Expect more articles like this in the future out of South Korea in an effort to try and pressure the Trump administration to drop sanctions against North Korea:
“We cannot go further,” said Moon Chung-in, an influential adviser to the South Korean president. “Why? Because of the sanctions regime.”
There is growing frustration that a slow pace on sanctions could dash renewed hopes for a connection.
“It’s so stressful that the United States is so controlling,” said Song Young-gil, a South Korean politician who recently inspected North Korea’s railways for the president’s office. (……)
But while a west coast railroad would connect political capitals, an east coast line through Jejin would be important for two key areas of Moon’s plans for cooperation with North Korea: trade and tourism.
Following existing tracks, this line would start at Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city and one of the world’s busiest seaports. Train service would run through Jejin and on into North Korea, passing through the Mount Kumgang tourist zone and then Wonsan, a weapons-industry hub converted into a beach resort. The service would continue to Hamhung, an industrial city and the second largest in North Korea.
Eventually, it would reach Rason, an ice-free seaport close to North Korean natural resources. From there, travelers would go on to the Russian border, where there are links to the Russian seaport of Vladivostok and beyond. In theory, a train could continue to Europe on what’s been dubbed the “Iron Silk Railroad. [Washington Post]
You can read more at the link, but this is why South Korea wants the sanctions dropped. North Korea has a number of tourism projects on their East Coast ready for ROK investment and tourists to create a cash cow for the Kim regime. The only thing stopping this are the sanctions. In the article South Korean politicians say that if the US drops the sanctions this will give Kim Jong-un the leverage he needs to get his military to give up its nukes.
Probably the most laughable line in the article is that South Korea experts told the Washington Post that the train line could open up North Korea politically. The Kim regime is not going to agree to do anything that will threaten the stability of their regime. Any tours into North Korea will be highly controlled just like all the other foreign tours into North Korea currently are.
I guess we will see what happens, but expect the South Korean government and their media allies to continue to put pressure on the Trump administration to drop the sanctions on the Kim regime for little to nothing in return.
