Provisional Agreement Signed For Passage of North-South Korean Test Trains

May 11 (EIRNS) - Two General officers of the militaries of South Korea and North Korea today signed a joint provisional agreement to open the their joint border to allow the scheduled passage of test trains on the two lines of the North-South Korean railroads, which have been closed since 1951. Although only a temporary agreement, this statement, posted by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea, is the critical next step towards opening the "Iron-Silk Road" from South Korea to the rest of Eurasia. The proposal to re-connect the rail lines on the Korean Peninsula was one of the most important policies set out by then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il when they met for the first time in 2000. A North-South road connection has been open since 2005.

The military demarcation lines will be opened from 9:00 till 17:00 on May 11, and two trains - one from the North and one from the South -- will run on the 27.3-km line connecting Munsan and Kaesong Stations in the west and the 25.5-km line connecting Kumgang and Jejin Stations in the east. There have already been three agreements for test runs on the re-connected rail lines since the links were completed in 2003, but they were never carried out. This is the first time that the two militaries have agreed to take the security measures to open the borders. No peace treaty has ever been signed after an armistice ended the Korean War in 1953. Therefore, this joint statement is the first between the two militaries since 2000, Yonhap News reported.

The two sides also agreed to further negotiations on their western coastal border, on the Yellow Sea. This was set by the United Nations in 1953, but North Korea wants it shifted. Another round of talks will take place in July, "The two sides have shared the view that preventing military conflict and creating a joint fishing zone in the West Sea is an issue to be urgently resolved in the course of easing military tension and establishing peace," according to their joint statement.

There will be further talks on the train runs on May 12, to finalize details, Yonhap reported.