Work on southern section of inter-Korean railway to resume soon: Seoul

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung said Tuesday construction will soon resume on the South Korean section of a railway line meant to link the two Koreas.

He made the remarks during a seminar in Seoul, as the government seeks to restore the South Korean section of the Gyeongwon Line, which once connected Seoul and North Korea's eastern port city of Wonsan.

The last stop now accessible on the southern section is Cheorwon's Baekmagoji in Gangwon Province, and the ministry plans to resume work on the stretch between Baekmagoji and Woljeong-ri Station, the northernmost station on the South Korean side, close to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.

The planned restoration work is aimed at "preparing a path connecting the two Koreas," Kim said at the forum on peace tourism cooperation on the Korean Peninsula.

Earlier this year, the ministry briefed the National Assembly on its plan to carry out preparatory work within this year, and to resume construction on the cross-border line next year.

Restoration of the line began in 2015 but stopped in May 2016, following North Korea's fourth nuclear test earlier that year.

"Peace will not come by declaration, but it grows bit by bit when people meet people face to face," Kim said.

The ministry, he added, will work to create such encounters by building transportation infrastructure and enhancing tourism in the border area.

Kim also called for greater interest from the private sector and the international community, saying the tourism in the border area cannot be driven by the government alone.

jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr
(END)