Koreas discuss first train over border in 57 yrs

Seoul, Mar 14: North and South Korea today discussed the first run of trains across their highly fortified border in 57 years and allaying fears of the North's military, which is leery of links into the reclusive country.

South Korea has longed for the highly symbolic train run and has built two rail links into North Korea on the east and west coasts. A rail crossing planned for May 2006 was scuttled at the last minute due to objections from the North's powerful military.

A key topic of discussions for their two days of talks in the North Korean border city of Kaesong will be military safety guarantees, South Korean officials said.

South Korea has linked tens of millions of dollars in aid to North Korean industries, such as clothing and soap production, to North Korea allowing trial train runs across the border.

The last train to cross the border was in 1951 during the Korean War, carrying wounded soldiers and refugees to the South, the Unification Ministry said.

The two Koreas are connected by road to a South Korean factory complex in Kaesong and at a mountain resort in the North run by an affiliate of the South's Hyundai Group.

They are technically still at war because the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in a truce and not with a peace treaty.

High-level contacts between the two, which were suspended after North Korea's missile test in July 2006, resumed a few weeks ago after the North agreed at six-country nuclear talks to start shutting down its nuclear arms programme.

Reuters

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