Koreas Near Accord to Resume Work on Cross-Border Railways
The two sides are to close a three-day economic meeting later Friday and to release a joint statement, they said.
"We are trying to fix the date for beginning of the construction work for cross-border railways and roads sometime next month," South Korean spokesman Cho Myoung-gyun said late Thursday.
But he refused to confirm media reports that the work could start before the Korean thanksgiving holiday, the Chuseok, which falls on September 21.
The talks, which resumed in Seoul Wednesday after a 20-month hiatus, are a key test for putting the inter-Korean rapprochement process back on track.
The South has offered rice and fertilizer aid to the North to secure concessions from its impoverished northern rival to resume work early on the cross-border railways and roads, AFP reported.
The construction project requires work to clear mines along the tense border, which means both sides also fix a date for military talks.
After the summit of their leaders in June 2000, both Koreas agreed to relink the railways and roads that have been cut off since the 1950-53 Korean War.
Meanwhile, North and South Korea will soon issue two or three statements, including one on food aid to the impoverished North, after three days of economic talks, a South Korean official said on Friday.
It was not immediately clear whether the statements would outline how the rival states planned to relink railways and roads across their heavily fortified border, as South Korean media reports have suggested.
"We will issue two or three statements, which are an agreement on the economic talks, food aid to the North and details about the deal," a South Korean spokesman told Reuters.
"The two sides reached an agreement and will exchange the signed document at an official meeting which will be held only for about 20 minutes due to the flight schedule," the spokesman said, referring to the North Korean delegation's departure.