Park urges N. Korea to join Eurasia Initiative

President Park Geun-hye writes on a railroad sleeper during a ceremony at Baengmagoji Station in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, Wednesday, to launch a project to restore the South Korean section of the 223.7 kilometer Gyeongwon Line, a disconnected inter-Korean railroad. / Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae press corps

By Kang Seung-woo

President Park Geun-hye has called on North Korea to participate in her Eurasia Initiative as part of efforts to bring Pyongyang back into the international community.

The plan seeks to connect transport and energy infrastructure from Asia through Russia into Europe.

“The door of opportunity stands open for the North to join the project,” Park said during a ceremony in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, Wednesday, to mark the groundbreaking of a project to restore South Korea’s part of an inter-Korean railroad.

The 223.7-kilometer Gyeongwon Line that once ran from Yongsan in Seoul to the North Korean eastern city of Wonsan was disconnected before the 1950-1953 Korean War. Seoul plans to renovate the remaining 9.3-kilometer railway section by 2017.

Park hopes to link the inter-Korea railroad with Russia’s Trans-Siberian Railway, which will extend the route to Western Europe.

“Should the Gyeongwon Line be restored, our trains will start from Busan and Yeosu and reach Siberia and Europe via North Korea and Russia,” she said.

“The Eurasia Initiative is a project to establish the nation’s network of logistics, transportation and energy.”

There has long been talk of reconnecting South Korea’s railways to Russia’s Trans-Siberian Railway through North Korea — Park discussed the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin twice in 2013 — but little headway has been made mainly due to strained inter-Korean ties.

Park said that the South will work with the United States, China and Russia to complete the initiative that she also believes will offer fresh opportunities for investment and job openings by becoming an integrated continent to lead future generations.

As part of the project, the South Korean government plans to push for talks with the North for joint efforts to rebuild disconnected railway sections in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and on the North’s side.

“The North should begin cooperation with the South to restore the disconnected railroad across the Korean Peninsula as soon as possible,” Park said.

The President also promoted her initiative to construct a peace park in the DMZ that she believes will serve as the first step for inter-Korean rapprochement.

“Should the two Koreas open a new era through dialogue and cooperation, the DMZ will serve as a peaceful place for the international community as well as the Korean Peninsula,” she said.

“If so, the DMZ will stand for Dream Making Zone.”