Northern Trade
A cargo ship that departed from Rajin Port in North Korea with Russian coal as a part of the Rajin-Khasan Project arrived off the shore of Pohang. The bulk carrier, borrowed by Hyundai Merchant Marine, left the North Korean port at 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 27 and arrived at its destination at 6:00 a.m. on Nov. 29. It has a crew of 24 Chinese sailors.
The ship carries 40,500 tons of Siberian bituminous coal, which had been transported by rail from Khasan to Rajin Port. The price of the coal and the transport cost are approximately US$4 million combined.
The cargo is scheduled to be moved to the nearby POSCO steel mill to be used in its blast furnaces. The steelmaker explained that the quality of the bituminous coal and the possibility of additional supply have yet to be determined, because the transport is a pilot project.
In the meantime, 13 South Korean personnel that had visited North Korea on Oct. 24 to check on the project returned to Seoul on the same day. “I visited Pyongyang with the other government officials and the consortium of POSCO, Hyundai Merchant Marine, and KORAIL to inspect the railway and harbor transport connection process, and all of us formed a consensus with Russia and North Korea,” said KORAIL Manager Ji Yong-tae, adding, “The port and railway facilities in Rajin were better than we thought.”
Under the circumstances, much attention is being paid to the conclusion of a formal contract for the Rajin-Khasan Project. The consortium is planning to participate in the project by purchasing half of Russia’s shares in Rasonkon Trans, a joint venture established in 2008 by Russia and North Korea, at a cost of 180 to 200 billion won (US$161.2 to $179 million). The South Korean government is considering the project as an exemption to its economic sanctions on North Korea.