Koreas open working-level railway talks to prepare for test runs of trains across border
26 April 2007

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Officials from North and South Korea opened working-level talks Friday to smooth out details for a planned historic test run of trains across their heavily guarded border, a South Korean official said.

The two-day talks in the North Korean border city of Kaesong come a week after the divided countries agreed to conduct the test runs on rebuilt rail tracks on May 17.

The North unilaterally called off a similar plan last year, citing objections from its military.

Last week, however, the North promised it would try to convince its military to guarantee the safety of travelers. The South plans to soon propose working-level military talks with its neighbor to work out an accord to protect passengers.

The test runs along rebuilt railroads would mark the first time trains have crossed the inter-Korean border in more than a half-century, and are a symbol of growing reconciliation between the two sides since a landmark inter-Korean summit in 2000.

Train services between the Koreas was halted in 1951, one year after the outbreak of the Korean war that ended in a cease-fire in 1953, not a peace treaty.

Koreas discuss details of historic cross-border rail test
13 May 2007

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North and South Korean officials held working-level talks Sunday to coordinate details for a historic railway test this week across their heavily armed border, a South Korean official said.

The meeting in Kaesong, a North Korean border city, comes days after the two rival Koreas agreed on security arrangements for the rail test set for Thursday, which would be the first time trains have crossed the border since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Two tracks -- which run through the eastern and western section of the border -- have been re-linked as part of reconciliation projects launched after leaders of the two Koreas held their first-ever summit in 2000.

The officials were discussing "procedures of the train test runs as well as plans to celebrate" the test, an official at South Korea's Unification Ministry said, asking not to be named, citing policy.

The test, however, is to be a single run of trains along the restored tracks on each side of the peninsula because isolated North Korea balks at the idea of allowing a regular service between the two countries.

One train from each side will cross the border, each carrying 200 people, and then return later that same day.

Seoul hopes the inter-Korean railway could ultimately be linked to Russia's Trans-Siberian railroad, and could allow an overland route connecting the peninsula to Europe -- significantly cutting delivery times for freight that now requires sea transport.

In another sign of revived reconciliation, some 100 North Koreans joined 440 South Koreans in a second day of family reunions at the North's Diamond Mountain resort. None of the relatives had seen each other since the end of the Korean War more than 50 years ago. The reunions are to end Monday.

Two Koreas set for first train crossing of border since 1950
16 May 2007

MUNSAN, South Korea (AP) - Trains were set to journey through the heavily armed border dividing the two Koreas for the first time in more than half a century, the latest symbolic move of reconciliation despite lingering tensions over the North's nuclear weapons.

The one-time test runs Thursday of trains along two restored tracks on the west and east sides of the peninsula come after repeated delays since the rail lines were linked in 2003.

"It's a historic day. I hope that from today the two Koreas will wash away the pain of tension and open the future of hope," Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said as he arrived to lead the South Korean delegation on the ride into the North.

The two Koreas "should not be derailed from the track or hesitate" in their moves toward unification, North Korean Senior Cabinet Councilor Kwon Ho Ung said at a ceremony at Munsan station, 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) south of the Demilitarized Zone, before the train departed.

Volleys of colored fireworks burst in the skies above the train as it moved into position in front of a red-carpeted platform for passengers to board, cheered on by a crowd of hundreds waving small paper flags depicting a unified Korean peninsula in blue.

The tests are scheduled to begin around midday Thursday with 150 people aboard two five-car trains -- one departing from the North and another from the South. Both trains will return later Thursday after spending a few hours on the opposite side.

On the western side of the border, 27.3 kilometers (17 miles) of track have been laid between the South's Munsan and Kaesong in the North. The new eastern line links North Korea's Diamond Mountain with Jejin in the South across 25.5 kilometers (16 miles) of track.

The two Koreas have resumed efforts at rapprochement after North Korea agreed in February to take initial steps to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs.

However, Pyongyang failed to shut down its sole bomb-making reactor by a mid-April deadline under that agreement with the U.S. and other regional powers. The North has said it will not move to disarm until a separate dispute over frozen funds is resolved, but that has been held up by technical issues involved in transferring the US$25 million (euro18.5 million) in its accounts.

The train test will be the latest hole punched through the DMZ since the two Koreas embarked on unprecedented reconciliation with their first-and-only summit in June 2000. Roads have also been restored and thousands of South Koreans cross annually as tourists visiting Diamond Mountain or to work in the joint-Korean industrial zone in Kaesong.

For South Korea, restoration of rail travel would help end its virtual island status, given the only land route out is through North Korea. A rail link could reduce delivery costs for its export-driven economy.

The rail test has been beset by repeated delays in the past, mainly because of the objections of North Korea's influential military.

It remains unclear when any regular train service between the two Koreas would start. North Korea's communist government is extremely reluctant to allow many foreign influences into the country as it seeks to maintain its grasp on power.

About a dozen South Koreans whose relatives have allegedly been abducted by North Korea staged a protest outside the Munsan train station, demanding the Seoul government do more to bring their loved ones home.

"Inter-Korean cooperation that ignores human rights is like building a castle with sand," read a protest sign.

"I wish the train would come back with my son if he is still alive," said Lee Kan-shim, 72, bursting into tears as police kept her from the site.

Trains still crossed between the North and South even after the division of the peninsula at the end of World War II. It wasn't until after the North invaded, starting the Korean War in 1950, that U.S. forces destroyed the tracks at the border, as well as the North's rail and road connections to China, to try to prevent infiltration by hostile forces.

The war ended in a 1953 cease-fire that has never been replaced with a peace treaty -- leaving the two Koreas technically at war.

------

Associated Press reporter Jae-soon Chang contributed to this report.

KBS News in Different Languages:

남북 열차, ‘분단’ 넘어 달렸다 (http://news.kbs.co.kr/article/politics/200705/20070517/1356797.html)

Trains Cross Border for 1st Time in Nearly 60 Years (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_detail.htm?No=45741)

南北韩列车汽笛长鸣，开创了克服分裂，共创和平的新时代 (http://world.kbs.co.kr/chinese/news/news_detail.htm?No=18048)

BBC News has a report (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6664091.stm), a video (http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_6660000/newsid_6664300?redirect=6664311.stm&news=1&bbram=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1&nbram=1) and photos (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/6664663.stm) of the event.
A pair of passenger trains have crossed the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea for the first time in more than 50 years.

The two trains - one travelling from the North and one from the South - each carried 150 invited passengers.

South Korea hailed it as a landmark in relations between the two countries.

But Thursday's crossing remains largely symbolic, the BBC's Charles Scanlon says. North Korea has so far only agreed to a one-off test-run.

For that, our correspondent adds, Pyongyang has demanded a high price.

South Korea has agreed to supply it with $80 million (£41m) worth of economic aid for the development of light industry.

More photos at GettyImages (http://editorial.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?EventId=74170267).

PHOTOS PLEASE!!!

Trains, rails, ..., etc.

PHOTOS PLEASE!!!

Trains, rails, ..., etc.
Try clicking on the links. :)

this is great news. open lines between the north and south again.

this is great news. open lines between the north and south again.


Read between the lines! There are no scheduled services yet! I suspect that South Korea really wants to run sealed trains through North Korea to China. Passenger service will be very sporadic at the whim of the North Korean government.

Read between the lines! There are no scheduled services yet! I suspect that South Korea really wants to run sealed trains through North Korea to China. Passenger service will be very sporadic at the whim of the North Korean government.I could see freight services using this link to China but yes I think we wont be seeing scheduled services for a while yet

I could see freight services using this link to China but yes I think we wont be seeing scheduled services for a while yet

I agree, I meant sealed freight trains, not passenger trains

North Korea to South Korea railway?The trainset should be named "The Time Traveler"

http://orientaldaily.on.cc/photo/20070518/new/0518nwdn05b1.jpg

Read between the lines! There are no scheduled services yet! I suspect that South Korea really wants to run sealed trains through North Korea to China. Passenger service will be very sporadic at the whim of the North Korean government.


HAHA!! read between the lines!!! LOL!!!

anyways. did it say anywhere in the comment about anything having to do with passenger rail? NO! it was simply a comment on the progression of the region. pay attention and stop jumping into stuff before you actually absorb it.

thi isn't so much as for passenger service, but a freight from South Korea through China and Russia to Europe. Russia is pushing for this even considering writing off North Korean debt of 8$ bln for rights for northkorean track..

It´s very possitive this news, the unification of Korea and a development in North Korea and its infrastructures is basic.

There are passenger rail services once a week along the Trans-Siberian railway from Moscow to Pyongyang.

NKorea Agrees to Start Cargo Trains
15 November 2007

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea agreed in principle to formally open a reconnected railway for regular cargo service across its heavily armed border with South Korea before the end of the year, an official said Thursday.

The two sides were trying set a specific date at high-level talks in Seoul for starting service on the 16-mile-long track for transport to and from a joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Nam-shik said.

"Both sides shared an understanding that it would be meaningful in further vitalizing the Kaesong industrial complex," Kim said.

In May, the sides conducted a one-time test run on the track and another reconnected rail line, marking the first train crossings across the frontier in more than half a century. But no regular service has yet started.

The rail's opening would mark one of the first tangible results of a landmark summit between South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang last month.

This week's talks between the prime ministers of the two sides -- the first such meeting in 15 years -- are aimed at fleshing out the summit accord that calls for greater peace and economic cooperation between the two sides.

Also on the agenda for the meetings running through Friday are the South's offers to repair a major North Korean road and a railway, build two shipyards there and provide medical assistance for the impoverished nation.

Koreas to run cross-border cargo train every day
22 November 2007

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North and South Korea agreed Thursday to run a cargo train service every day on a reconnected track across their heavily armed border starting next month, the Unification Ministry said.

The agreement was a follow-up to a deal reached last week at the first prime ministers' talks between the two sides in 15 years, which calls for starting regular cross-border freight train service on Dec. 11.

Working-level officials met this week to specify details, including how often trains will run on the short track linking the South to the North's border city of Kaesong, home to an industrial zone for dozens of South Korean factories.

A South Korean train will make a round trip every day to the North on the 25-kilometer-long (16-mile-long) rail, transporting cargo to and from the factory park, the ministry said in a statement.

It would be the first regular train service between the two sides, which were divided more than half a century ago.

Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said the two Koreas also agreed in principle to expand the service to passenger transportation and open another reconnected rail running on the eastern part of the divided peninsula in the future.

The two nations need to work on a military agreement on security arrangements on the border-crossing before the service can be launched. The North Korean military has refused such agreements in the past.

Lee said the issue will be discussed at next week's defense ministers' talks in Pyongyang, but expects it to be approved because North Korean leader Kim Jong Il backed the project at last month's summit with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.

South Korea hopes the inter-Korean railway will ultimately be linked to Russia's Trans-Siberian railroad and allow an overland route connecting the peninsula to Europe -- significantly cutting delivery times for freight that now requires sea transport.

Also Thursday, the South's government announced a broad reconciliation plan with North Korea that sets out goals and principles in its efforts to improve ties with Pyongyang. One objective in the five-year plan is for the two Koreas to open a permanent representative in each other's capital.

But the plan's implementation is uncertain because Roh leaves office in February and it is unclear if his successor would carry it on. Lee Myung-bak, who currently leads in opinion polls for the Dec. 19 presidential election, has criticized Roh for being too soft on Pyongyang.

Two Koreas agree on cross-border train

SEOUL, Dec 2, 2007 (AFP) - North and South Korea have agreed to run a regular daily cross-border freight train service from next week for the first time in over half a century, officials said Sunday.

Negotiators from both sides on Saturday mapped out details on the rail service at talks in the North in a follow-up to their leaders' agreement, the South's unification ministry said in a statement.

President Roh Moo-Hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il agreed at a historic summit in early October to resume regular freight services, and both sides last month set December 11 for their inauguration.

The service, the first since the 1950-53 Korean War, will begin with a twice-daily border crossing by a 10-carriage cargo train, the ministry said.

The train will leave Munsan in the South at 9:00 am (0000GMT) and reach Bongdong in the North before returning to Munsan at 2:00 pm, it said.

Defence chiefs from both sides last week agreed to provide a security guarantee for the daily cross-border cargo train to run the 20-kilometre (12-mile) section of track across the heavily-fortified border.

Seoul hopes the service, which connects to Bondong near the Seoul-funded Kaesong industrial estate in the North, will slash transport costs dramatically.

At present, hundreds of trucks cross the border daily to move raw materials north to Kaesong, and to transport finished products back to South Korea.

Some 20,000 North Koreans earning about 60 dollars a month produce clothes, utensils, watches and other goods for South Korean firms at the estate.

Labour-starved South Korea sees Kaesong as a model for future joint economic projects to narrow the huge wealth gap in preparation for possible reunification.

Cross-border trains made test runs in May.

The two Koreas still remain technically at war after their conflict ended only in an armistice, not a permanent peace treaty.

Cargo Trains Begin Service in Koreas
10 December 2007

DORASAN STATION, South Korea (AP) - The first cargo train providing regular service across the border between the two Koreas in more than a half-century left Tuesday for the North. The 12-car train carrying construction materials will cross through the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula on its journey to the North Korean border city of Kaesong, where the two Koreas operate a joint industrial zone. It was to cross back later Tuesday.

The service is one of the tangible results of an October summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun that outlined a series of joint projects. It comes months after the two sides conducted a one-time test run of passenger trains on two reconnected tracks on the western and eastern sides of the peninsula.

The cargo train will make a 10-mile round trip every weekday to North Korea.

It remains unclear whether regular passenger train service will start anytime soon, but one of the train's engineers was hopeful Tuesday.

"I expect a day will come when South Koreans visit North Korean tourist attractions freely by train," Shin Jang-chul, whose parents are from what is now North Korea, told reporters before departing.

South Korea hopes the inter-Korean railway will ultimately be linked through North Korea to Russia's Trans-Siberian railroad and allow an overland route connecting the peninsula to Europe -- significantly cutting delivery times for freight that now requires sea transport.

The cargo rail service is likely to give a further boost to the sprawling Kaesong complex, which marries South Korean technology and management expertise with North Korea's cheap labor.

Currently, 64 South Korean companies operate factories there, employing about 21,600 North Korean workers and producing a range of goods including watches, clothing and shoes.

South Korea hopes the Kaesong project will encourage isolated North Korea to reform its centrally controlled economy and eventually open up to the outside world.

The rail lines between the Koreas were severed shortly after the outbreak of the 1950 Korean War. The conflict ended in a 1953 cease-fire that has never been replaced by a peace treaty, leaving the sides technically at war.

Already, dozens of cars, trucks and buses regularly cross the border between the two Koreas via reconnected roads both to the Kaesong complex and also to a tourism resort at North Korea's Diamond Mountain.

The transport links between North and South were reconnected after the first-ever summit between leaders of the divided nation in 2000.

This is so historic for both Koreas.

This is the first step.

There's no doubt.

http://a.abcnews.com/images/International/ap_korea_trains_070517_ms.jpg

A train passes the gate for the Demilitarized Zone as South Koreans wave unification flags near Dorasan Station near Paju, South Korea, Thursday, May 17, 2007. Trains departed for the first rail journey across the heavily armed border dividing the two Koreas in more than half a century, the latest symbol of historic reconciliation between the longtime foes. (Lee Jin-man, Pool/AP Photo)

I was in Seoul for a week in mid Nov and took the opportunity to visit the DMZ with a tour which included a quick 5 min stop at Dorasan station. I've finally found some time to post some pics. Unfortunately, the weather was cold and misty so some of the outside pics are not so good.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg75/yappofloyd/SANY0655.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg75/yappofloyd/SANY0656.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg75/yappofloyd/SANY0654.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg75/yappofloyd/SANY0659.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg75/yappofloyd/SANY0660.jpg
The above mentioned TransAsian link is displayed on a map inside the station.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg75/yappofloyd/SANY0661.jpg
Scale model of the station. North Korea to the right.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg75/yappofloyd/SANY0666.jpg
The station is in the DMZ just south of the line of control.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg75/yappofloyd/SANY0663.jpg
Platform 1 looking towards North Korean direction. No heavy traffic as yet of course!

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg75/yappofloyd/SANY0662.jpg
Platform 1 looking towards South Korean direction.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg75/yappofloyd/SANY0658.jpg
There are a few scheduled services a day between Seoul and stations just before the DMZ.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg75/yappofloyd/SANY0657.jpg

Two Koreas discuss changes to cross-border train service

SEOUL, Jan 29, 2008 (AFP) - Officials from North and South Korea met Tuesday to discuss changes to a historic cross-border railway freight service after the North proposed cutting the frequency due to a lack of cargo.

The first regular train service for half a century across the heavily fortified frontier began last month and was hailed as a landmark in reconciliation. But it has carried relatively little cargo.

The two sides will also discuss a project to repair the rail line all the way up to Sinuiju on the North's border with China following an agreement at an inter-Korean summit last October, Seoul's unification ministry said.

"They will discuss ways to improve the railway freight service... and review the issues related to the repair of the railway between Kaesong and Sinuiju," it said in a statement.

The train, which runs five days a week, currently halts near a Seoul-funded industrial estate at Kaesong just north of the border. But it has been carrying little cargo to and from the estate because factory owners find it more convenient to use trucks.

On some days last month the train was running empty, according to South Korean state railway officials at the time. They said it would be continued because of its symbolic significance.

During talks last Friday the North Koreans proposed reducing the frequency of the service.

Tuesday's meeting will likely focus on reducing the size of the 12-wagon trains used on the line and other details, said ministry officials quoted by Yonhap news agency.

Some 20,000 North Koreans produce clothes, utensils, watches and other labour-intensive goods for South Korean firms in Kaesong, earning around 60 dollars a month.

Koreas agree to 'flexibly' run cross-border railway
1 February 2008
The Korea Herald

The two Koreas agreed to continue daily cross-border freight train services along the east coast, but adjust the size of the train according to demand.

It was part of the agreements reached at the first working-group committee meeting on railway cooperation in Gaeseong on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the Unification Ministry said.

In a landmark development last year, the two Koreas began daily cargo trains on Dec. 11 between Munsan of South Korea and Bongdong of North Korea. The train has been 12 carriages-long, but usually empty due to miniscule demand.

At the talks, the two sides also discussed ways to simplify customs procedures and refurbish rail lines in time for the Beijing Summer Olympics, but did not reach a compromise, the ministry said.

While the South wanted a closer on-sight examination, the North wanted an immediate start on the work, inside sources said.

The latest meeting was part of a scurry of follow-up discussions to the Oct. 4 inter-Korean summit talks.

North Koreans attending the gathering "appeared to be keeping in check what is going on in the South (following the presidential election), while at the same time maintaining inter-Korean relations momentum," an inside source familiar with the talks said on condition of anonymity.

Since South Korea's presidential race in which "pragmatic conservative" Lee Myung-bak was elected, the two Koreas have held a total of five different working-level meetings on such issues as defense, maritime cooperation, establishing a peace zone in the West Sea, and opening a cross-border railway for the Beijing Olympics.

Most of the inter-Korean talks are being arranged by the Unification Ministry, which Lee has pledged to amalgamate with the Foreign Ministry in his administration.

I hope to enjoy these ... this country's customs are the most amusing Asian ones :D

filsGXtRlks

05W0l_B0TTw

bWVNiB4tpCQ

^^ Those were fascinating. NK is an amazing enigma and a country I'd like to visit.

Yep ... the descriptions I'd read earlier this summer match the bottom two vids I've just watched ... the music's a bit much to the last one (& to its part 2), eh? :nuts: The lengthy first video starts out with a score too :ohno:

The third video has a good train race clip in it.

Wasn't it filmed well? :) I'm glad somebody's picked up on it.