Lee In-young "South-North Railroad Connection, Plan for Additional and Detailed Investigation on the South Side"

Minister of Unification Reports to National Assembly
"Individual Tourism to be Promoted if North Korea Responds"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, announced on the 25th that plans have been made for an additional detailed investigation of the South Korean section to connect inter-Korean railways, and if North Korea responds positively, individual tourism to North Korea will be actively promoted.

Minister Lee stated this during a work report at the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on the same day, saying, "We will continue to discover and prepare cooperation areas for restoring trust and implementing agreements between the two Koreas."

He explained, "We will seek official and public dialogue channels to restore inter-Korean dialogue," and "We will gradually expand cooperation spaces between the two Koreas through humanitarian cooperation, socio-cultural exchanges, and small-scale trade."

Furthermore, regarding preparations for inter-Korean economic cooperation, he identified the following as key agenda items: ▲railway and road connections, ▲individual tourism to North Korea, and ▲Kaesong Industrial Complex.

Minister Lee said, "We have prepared plans for additional and detailed investigations on our side for the connection and modernization of inter-Korean railways and roads, and will promote the Gangneung~Jejin East Sea Northern Line railway connection project." He added, "Modernization of the North Korean section will proceed in the order of additional and detailed investigations → basic plan establishment → design → construction commencement once dialogue resumes."

He also stated, "If the North responds positively, we will actively promote individual tourism to North Korea," proposing measures such as ▲visits to Kaesong and Mount Kumgang by separated families and social organizations, ▲visits to North Korea via third countries, and ▲linked tourism for foreigners between South and North Korea. Additionally, he added, "Efforts to realize the New Economic Map of the Korean Peninsula, including the reactivation of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, will continue."

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