Kim Yeon-cheol "Preparing Detailed Survey for Inter-Korean Railway and Road Connection"

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul are attending the full meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 9th.

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul stated on the 9th, "According to the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea sanctions, the inter-Korean railway and road connection is classified as non-commercial public infrastructure," adding, "The government is currently preparing for a detailed investigation following an initial survey."

Minister Kim made these remarks during a plenary session of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee in response to a question regarding whether the inter-Korean railway and road connection violates UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea.

He said, "Based on the results of the detailed investigation, we will proceed with the design and prepare domestically for related aspects."

However, he added, "The progress of the North Korea-U.S. denuclearization negotiations will also influence the procedural advancement."

Earlier, in a briefing on current issues, Minister Kim stated, "We will expand inter-Korean relations in areas such as sports, tourism, and railway and road sectors, taking into comprehensive consideration the sanctions situation and North Korea's potential responsiveness."

Meanwhile, on December 18 last year, Lee Sang-min, spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification, said at a regular briefing, "The inter-Korean railway connection project is a non-commercial public infrastructure project under the UN Security Council resolutions, so construction can proceed if prior approval is obtained from the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea sanctions."

He explained, "Since inter-Korean railway and road cooperation is a non-commercial public infrastructure project, it has the characteristic that it does not require individual sanction exemption procedures for each item."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.