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A ceremony marking the reconnection of the inter-Korean railway and road was held Wednesday morning at Doransan railway station.
An iron gate at the Doransan stop, the last stop on the South Korean part of the Seoul-Shinuiju Rail Line, was opened amid salute marking the beginning of the reconnection work. Behind the gate is the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Right after the gate was opened, a South Korean girl went through the opened gate to reunite with a handsome boy, who had been waited there for her. They exchanged roses bouquets and hugged each other tightly.
Then, a train slowly came near and finally stopped at the end of the unlinked railway, which will be reconnected with the rest part in the DPRK side at the end of 2002 or at the beginning of 2003.
Before the formal ceremony, a celebration event was also held here, including singing, dancing, and drum playing.
The second inter-Korean economic cooperation talks held on Aug.27-30 agreed to relink two inter-Korean railways, the Gyeongui (Seoul-Shinuiju) Railway and the Donghae (East Coast) Railway as well as two inter-Korean roads, the Gyongui Road and Donghae Road as soon as possible.
Moreover, South Korea and the DPRK agreed to hold ground-breaking ceremonies respectively on Sept. 18.
To assure the reconnection work to go smoothly, South Korea andthe DPRK have held rounds of talks, such as the inter-Korean military talks at the truce village of Panmunjom on Sept. 15-17, and the inter-Korean talks on details of the reconnection work at Mount Geumgang in the DPRK on Sept. 14-17.
The two military authorities finally agreed to provide securities to those who will work in the DMZ and exchanged the agreement on Tuesday. While the railway and road talks also hammered out a seven points agreement relevant to the connection work.
Just as the acting prime minister Kim Suk-soo said before the ceremony, the reconnection work on the railways and highways between South Korea and the DPRK will certainly "contribute to mutual confidence building and easing of military tension on the Korean Peninsula."
(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2002)
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