SEOUL -- North and South Korea agreed on Friday to relink a railway and road through the world's most fortified border and to hold military talks on doing the job safely.

Following is a translation by Reuters of the South Korean version of a joint statement after three days of economic talks in Seoul: 1. Two Koreas will start reconnection of railways and road on September 18.

They will aim to complete the construction work on a western rail link by the end of this year, and a road link by the spring of 2003.

They aim to complete eastern rail and road links within one year. They also agreed to connect a temporary eastern road link by the end of this November.

2. The South Korean side agreed to provide the North Korean side with materials and equipment for building road and rail links.

3. Two Koreas will hold military talks before September 18 to help reconnecting transport links.

4. Two Koreas will hold working-level talks between September 13 and September 15 to discuss detailed schedule of the reconnection.

5. Two Koreas will cooperate to ensure construction of an industrial park in the North by the end of this year.

6. Two Koreas will start in November looking into anti-flood measures for the North.

7. Two Koreas will hold talks between September 16 and September 18 on a dam in the North which the South has safety concerns about.

8. Two Koreas will adopt four agreements to ensure previous pledges to prevent double taxation and guarantee investment.

9. The South Korean side will provide the North Korea with 400,000 tons of rice on a credit basis as well as 100,000 tons of fertilizer as early as possible.

10. An economic oversight delegation from the North will visit South Korea on October 26.

11. Two Koreas will hold a third set of economic talks in Pyongyang between November 6 and November 9.

According to pool reports the North Korean version differs in its reference to military talks. In point 3, the North Korean version says that the two sides should recommend to their military authorities to take steps to provide military guarantees before September 18. In point 9 on the rice aid, the South Korean version clearly states tonnage of rice and fertilizer it agreed to send, but North Korean version says "North and South agreed to cooperate on humanitarian and reciprocal principles."