'China Willing to Partner with South Korea for Railway Connection'

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang said that China is willing to partner with South Korea for inter-Korean railway connection.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang had a meeting on Dec. 23. There, the former said that inter-Korean railway and road connection for logistics networks to cover China, Europe and Eurasia will form the foundation of a new multilateral peace and security regime.

At the meeting, they discussed economic cooperation issues such as the South Korea-China FTA and inter-Korean railway connection. Also, the South Korean president mentioned the high-speed railway network covering a distance of 10,000 kilometers from Chengdu to Europe.

The Chinese prime minister said that China is willing to partner with South Korea for the railway connection. “Washington-Pyeongyang issues have to be addressed by dialogues and China will communicate actively with South Korea for permanent peace in the Korean Peninsula,” he added.

Inter-Korean railway connection is subject to U.N. sanctions on the North and cannot be realized immediately. The two Koreas checked the North’s railroad tracks, tunnels and the like last year, but no construction work was conducted due to the sanctions. The railway connection, desired by both South Korea and North Korea, is likely to keep clashing with the sanctions and remain controversial for the time being.

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