Seoul, Nov. 18 (BNA): President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that he hopes to see progress in expanding the joint railway and other projects between South Korea and its northern neighbors.
Moon made the remark in a video message on the occasion of the opening of the Third International Nordic Economic Cooperation Forum, and touched upon one of his major policy initiatives.
“I hope to see greater achievements in cooperation between South Korea and North countries and a vision to jointly open up a sustainable future through Arctic Shipping Routes, East Asian Railway Cluster, and Anti-epidemic and Health Cooperation in Northeast Asia,” the president said. Yonhap reported.
The trans-East Asia rail link is a component of the Korean Peninsula peace process initiative that the Moon revealed in 2018.
The project will link railways between South and North Korea, China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia.
Moon said South Korea has shared its anti-virus experiences with its northern neighbors and worked together in an effort to jointly overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.
He pledged to contribute to the development of future growth engines for countries by investing in them and enhancing cooperation in the areas of health, digital technologies and the environment.
Moon also said that Seoul will double its health-related official development assistance to the Nordic countries this year compared to last year and help with its responses to the climate crisis.
“As a part of Eurasia, South Korea will always walk the North’s path toward peace and prosperity,” Moon said.
The Presidential Commission for Northern Economic Cooperation hosts the annual forum.
In a message congratulating the event, Unification Minister Lee In-young said South Korea will seek to normalize a long-suspended inter-Korean tourism project at Mount Kumgang in the North when the COVID-19 situation improves.
“Twenty-three years ago today, the Mount Kumgang Historic Tourism Project, an inter-Korean representative cooperative project, began,” Lee said. Once the conditions are met, we will hold serious consultations with the North regarding the establishment of a joint special tourism zone on the East Coast.
The Mount Kumgang tour program was considered a key symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation until it was suspended in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean guard.
FKN