Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.
Koreas to inspect road along east coast
The road along the Korean Peninsula's east coast seen from Goseong, Gangwon Province. / Korea Times file
By Kim Bo-eun
By Kim Bo-eun
The South and North will begin a four-day examination of sections of roads in North Korea today. The main inspection will be of the 100-kilometer road from Goseong in South Korea to Wonsan in the North along the east coast.
Officials will also check a four-kilometer stretch of road in the Gaeseong region in the west. This is a follow-up of inspections of the western road that took place in August, the ministry said.
Ten South Korean officials led by directors of the unification and land ministries will take part in the inspection, as well as meetings to discuss follow-up examinations.
The team will return after finishing inspections of the east coast road on Sunday and head back to the North on Monday to check the Gaeseong road.
The inspections are seen as a hasty move to complete road inspections before holding a ceremony marking the launch of inter-Korean railway and road projects planned for Dec. 26.
The Koreas completed the railway inspections on Monday, but has yet to finish examining roads.
The unification ministry earlier said there was a possibility of holding the ceremony without completing the road inspections.
After arrangements for the road inspections were finalized, the ministry said there is sufficient time to conduct road inspections before the ceremony.
“The inspections this time are different from the examinations of the roads along the east coast,” the ministry said, stating they are simpler.
It said the Koreas have continued since November to discuss plans to inspect the North's road in the west.
The ministry added that the South Korean government has held close consultations with the U.S. and the United Nations Command on adhering to sanctions on the North in conducting the inspections.