Koreas to Set Up Body for Peace Zone
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
The prime ministers of North and South Korea have agreed to form an organization for establishing a special cooperative peace zone in coastal areas of the West Sea, and to open a Munsan-Bongdong railway for freight trains this year, according to sources, Thursday.
The agreement came as North Korean Prime Minister Kim Yong-il and his South Korean counterpart Han Duck-soo had a second day of discussions in order to produce a joint statement.
The statement will contain follow-up measures to agreements reached at the second inter-Korean summit held in Pyongyang from Oct. 2-4.
The two discussed issues including the peace zone project, construction of a shipyard, the improvement of railways and roads in North Korea, the expansion of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and cooperation for natural resources development.
On the first day of talks, the South proposed the creation of the peace zone project organization; facilities for communication, customs and transportation at the Gaeseong complex; construction of the shipyard; more frequent reunions of displaced families; and the return of South Koreans abducted by the North.
In response, North Korean delegates suggested, among others, joint use of the Gaeseong-Sinuiju railway and Gaeseong-Pyongyang highway, the development of shipyards in the North and the expansion of the Gaeseong complex.
The complex is where scores of South Korean factories produce garments, shoes and other labor-intensive goods with North Korea's cheap labor.
The two prime ministers started the second day of talks by taking a walk for 30 minutes around the Seoul hotel where the talks were being held, according to Kim Nam-shik, a spokesman of the Unification Ministry.
Another issue high on the agenda is the establishment of a joint fishing area in the West Sea as agreed upon by President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il last month.
The spokesman said that the talks went well in a positive atmosphere and a joint statement will likely be issued Friday morning.
North Korean Prime Minister Kim also expressed optimism on the talks, saying he will do his best to reach agreements for implementation of the Oct. 4 statement by the two countries respective leaders.
After the talks the North Korean delegation visited the National Museum of Korea in the afternoon, and delegates from the two sides had dinner together in the evening.
At the inter-Korean summit last month, the two leaders agreed on various measures that would help ease tension between the two sides _ which are technically in a state of war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice _ while expanding inter-Korean economic cooperation.
In order to facilitate the implementation of the agreements, the defense ministers of the two Koreas will hold talks in Pyongyang from Nov. 27-29.