By Kim Yoo-chul
The two Koreas are speeding up negotiations on reconnecting air routes on the Korean Peninsula with North Korea renovating its two main airports.
Government officials said Wednesday, the main runway of Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, the largest airport in North Korea has been resurfaced and most of the right-angle cross-connections between the taxiway and the main runway have been replaced with diagonal ones.
Progress on new terminals is also underway. Changes are also being made at Samjiyon Airport, the closest gateway to Mount Paektu, offcials said.
“The two Koreas are discussing renovating North Korea’s old airport facilities including Samjiyon Airport. Seoul plans to provide assistance depending upon circumstances,” one official said.
Under the “2007 October 4 Declaration,” South and North Korea agreed to initiate tour programs to the North Korean mountain, which has spiritual significance to both Koreas, and open a air route between Seoul and Samjiyon. The two Koreas initially pushed to renovate Samjiyon Airport, but that didn’t materialize.
The unification ministry said the opening of the route between the two Koreas would be within the framework of sanctions, but it won’t allow South Korean air carriers to pay fees for using North Korean airspace, which is said to be estimated at about 800,000 won ($720).
In February this year, North Korea requested the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which dictates territorial airspace, to establish a new Air Traffic Service (ATS) route between Pyongyang and the Incheon Flight Information Region (FIR).
South Korean airplanes were able to fly through North Korean airspace following the North’s opening of the Pyongyang FIR to international traffic back in 1998. But the flights were stopped when South Korea imposed sanctions in May 2010, a ministry official said.