An inter-Korean investigation team on the Donghae Line poses for a commemorative photograph on a bridge over the Tumen River in December 2018. (provided by the Ministry of Unification)
The South Korean government is resuming efforts to move forward with a cooperative project with North Korea to connect their railroad systems. The first step will be connecting a break in the South Korean section of the Donghae Line, which runs along Korea’s eastern coast. Officials hope that this will kickstart efforts to reconnect the two sides’ railroad systems and realize the vision of the “East Asian Railroad Community.”South Korea’s Unification Ministry and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport announced on Apr. 20 that a ceremony celebrating efforts to complete the northern section of the Donghae Line will be held on Apr. 27 at Jejin Station in Goseong County, Gangwon Province. Apr. 27 will be the second anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration made by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.The northern section of the Donghae Line, a 104.6km stretch that would run between Gangneung and Jejin, is effectively the only unconnected section of the Donghae Line (the eastern wing of the proposed Trans-Korean Railway). Work is already underway on the hitherto unconnected central section of the Donghae Line, covering the 166.3km between Pohang and Samcheok, a project that’s supposed to be wrapped up in 2022.Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul is expected to give the Gangneung-Jejin railroad construction plan a green light while presiding over a meeting of the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council, which will be held on Apr. 23, prior to the ceremony for the northern section of the Donghae Line. The council’s approval would pave the way for waiving the preliminary feasibility study that would normally be necessary before construction can begin.
