It looks like the United Nations Command is still upholding sanctions though the Moon administration doesn’t want them to:
The unification ministry set aside around 350 billion won ($315 million) to connect the rail and road networks of the two Koreas according to documents that were initially undisclosed.
The documents obtained by Rep. Choung Byoung-gug of the Bareunmirae Party from the ministry and National Assembly, stated that 352.6 billion won out of a 1.97 trillion won fund for inter-Korean affairs had been set aside to link transport networks with North Korea. The documents for the first time showed the government’s budget for the project.
Specifically, the ministry had set aside 134.1 billion won for rail connections and 54.8 billion won for roads. The ministry also reportedly drew up another 163.7 billion won for “establishing infrastructure for inter-Korean economic cooperation.”
The budget was drawn up at a time when the project has been put on hold as the Koreas have yet to conduct inspections on train tracks in the North. This is because the United Nations Command, which is in charge of approving personnel and equipment crossing the military demarcation line (MDL), has barred South Koreans from crossing to survey the North’s transport infrastructure.
This is due to the fact that a South Korean train carrying oil needs to cross the MDL. The United Nations Security Council sanctions on North Korea ban this. Resolution 2397 states “all member states shall prohibit the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer to North Korea, through their territories or by their nationals, or using their flag vessels, aircraft, pipelines, rail lines, or vehicles, of all refined petroleum products.” [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link.
It seems it will be hard to get the international community to take sanctions on North Korea seriously when South Korea has announced it is connecting a railroad with North Korea:
The United States on Monday called for the full enforcement of United Nations sanctions on North Korea as the two Koreas moved to establish rail and road links across their border.
The two Koreas will hold a ground-breaking ceremony in late November or early December to start the modernization and connection of railways and roads along the eastern and western regions, the sides announced after high-level talks earlier in the day.
The agreement is a follow-up to last month’s third summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
“As President Moon has stated: ‘The improvement of relations between North and South Korea cannot advance separately from resolving North Korea’s nuclear program,'” a spokesperson for the State Department said in response to a Yonhap query. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link.
South Korea’s delegation heads for North Korea through the North and South Entry Office in Paju, north of Seoul, on July 20, 2018, for joint railway inspection. The two Koreas agreed in June to modernize and link their currently severed railways and conduct pre-inspections. They will look at the system along the eastern coast on the day and inspect the system along the western coast next week. (Yonhap)
Moon returns from Russia where he pitched his own Northern Strategy (the "Northern Silk Road") to Putin, Medvedev and the Russian lower house. SK railroad officials accompanied him to confer with Russian ones re connecting to the Trans-Siberian Railwayhttps://t.co/sio2gDj7ra
— Noon in Korea (@NoonInKorea) June 24, 2018
North Korea appears to be fixing up railways before foreign journalists arrive for the closure of the nuclear test site, @the_daily_nk reports https://t.co/XHslfeVnR3 pic.twitter.com/iXjegtIkSm
— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) May 17, 2018
South Korean soldiers walk over the tracks of the Gyeongui railway blocked by a barbed wire fence inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas at the western section of the inter-Korean border in Paju, north of Seoul, on May 15, 2018. The leaders of South and North Korea agreed to link cross-border roads and railways on April 27 when they held the historic inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the DMZ, raising prospects for South Korea’s project to build a railway connection with North Korea and Eurasia. The Gyeongui railway links Seoul with Sinuiju, a city on the Korean Peninsula’s border with China. (Yonhap)
South Korea wants to build a $35 billion high-speed railway to connect North Korea with the world https://t.co/M8971oqLe4 via @businessinsider
— NorthKoreaRealTime (@BuckTurgidson79) May 10, 2018
Here is an interesting story about how a Korean train was used in an attempt to rescue US soldiers besieged in the city of Daejon during the Korean War. Two of the Korean railroad workers from this rescue attempt were honored recently by the US military:
Two train workers who risked their lives in an ill-fated attempt to rescue U.S. troops during the Korean War received honors Tuesday from the Pentagon in Daejeon, South Korea.
Hwang Nam-ho and Hyun Jae-young were posthumously awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service for helping to guide a train carrying about 30 troops through enemy territory on July 19, 1950, in a bid to reach forces cut off by a North Korean advance.
Trapped personnel included Maj. Gen. William Dean, commander of the 24th Infantry Division and an eventual Medal of Honor recipient.
Hwang and Hyun were among the few survivors of the rescue mission, which nevertheless made it to Daejeon on the bullet-riddled train, according to KORAIL, the Korea Railroad Corp.
The train’s lead conductor, Kim Jae Hyun, died from multiple wounds and received the same award from the Pentagon in 2012.
On Tuesday, Hwang’s and Hyun’s relatives accepted the awards on their behalf in front of Patriotic Railroad Square, where statues of the three men stand. U.S. military officials and railroad company representatives were on hand to honor the wartime workers. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read the rest at the link.
I guess we will see if this inter-Korean project will end up just like all the other ones, as a negotiating chip to increase the wealth of the Kim regime while doing little to nothing for average North Koreans:
South Korea’s unification minister expressed hope on Sunday that the reconnection of the railway linking Seoul and the North Korean city of Wonsan will be a “starting point” for inter-Korean cooperation down the road.
The 223.7-km-long railway was built in 1914 and served as a major supply route from Seoul to Wonsan before it was severed during the 1950-53 Korean War.
The Seoul government earlier said that it will start construction of the 11.7-km-long section of the railway running through Gangwon Province next month in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of its independence from Japan.
“I want to see the railways between the two Koreas be reconnected as quickly as possible,” Unification Minister Hong was quoted as saying during his visit to the area. “I want it to be a major starting point.”
“Railways are actual linking channels for the two Koreas and I wish to discuss many other issues and cooperative projects based on this railway reconnection business,” he said. [Yonhap]
You can read the rest at the link.
