Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.
Korea, Iceland agree to develop Northern Sea route
President Park Geun-hye shakes hands with Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson ahead of their summit at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. / Joint press corps
By Kang Seung-woo
By Kang Seung-woo
Korea and Iceland agreed Monday to develop a maritime route in the Arctic Ocean that would save time and costs for shipping, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
The agreement was reached during a summit between President Park Geun-hye and Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson at the presidential office.
Grimsson arrived here on Sunday on a three-day visit and his trip marked the first time for an Icelandic president to visit Seoul since the two countries forged diplomatic ties in 1962.
The sea route is a shipping lane linking Asia with Europe through the straits between the New Siberian Islands.
In addition, the two nations also agreed to push for a consultative meeting to discuss their policies on the Arctic region starting next year.
“We have laid the groundwork for cooperation with Iceland in developing the navigation lane,” Park’s office said in.
“The sea route is expected to serve as a catalyst for the realization of the ‘Eurasia Initiative.’”
The initiative, proposed by President Park, seeks to connect transport and energy infrastructure from Asia through Russia into Europe.
According to Cheong Wa Dae, Korean ships, now using the conventional shipping route through the Indian Ocean and Suez Canal to reach Europe, take about 40 days, but the sea route is expected to shorten travel time from Busan to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to 30 days, cutting shipping costs.
The route can only be used now between July and October and vessels need help from icebreakers, but it is expected to be available all year round by 2030 due to the thawing of the North Pole.
Also, the two leaders agreed to expand bilateral trade and investment, taking advantage of the Korea-European Free Trade Association free trade agreement.