Towards the end of April, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with South Korean president Moon Jae, resulting in a historic deal that is poised to end the Cold War-era division. The two countries stated that they will continue with the pursuit of signing a peace treaty.
This treaty will work toward the goal of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. At the moment, it’s still unclear to what degree that North Korea plans to stop its nuke projects.
Calls for Peace
The negotiations, also known as the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, also has a blueprint that includes connecting North Korea to the rest of the world.
At the summit, Moon is reported to have handed the North Korean leader a USB drive that contains a detailed plan regarding the construction of a massive railway.
The main facets of the plan envision a modern railway line that would connect Seoul to Pyongyang in the North, then moving further on to the areas of Kaesong and Shinuijuin in North Korea.
An expensive endeavor
The railway plan is estimated to cost around $35 billion, though it is believed to be much more expensive. Moreover, there will also be plans to add another high-speed line from Seoul to Shinuiju through Pyongyang, along with an addition of six more railways that will cross through North Korea.
As of the moment, the rails in North Korea are extremely dilapidated and break repeatedly especially when heavy loads are being carried. In fact, the current trains in North Korea can only manage a meager 30 miles per hour on average. Hence, modernizing the lines would result in double the speeds, proving advantageous for the North Korean state.
That being said, the railway is poised to become a vital transportation megaproject. In fact, it will be a monumental geopolitical move that is directed towards convincing the North Korean regime to maintain its promise of peace.
Bolstering international trade
Hence, the railway could prove a lucrative venture increasing trade between the Korean Peninsula, Europe, and China.
That’s because these railway lines would seamlessly connect the center of North Korea’s commerce, the Shinuiju-Dandong crossing, with China. Not only that, it would also connect Russia’s Trans-Siberian Railroad, with South Korea’s two mega-cities; that is Seoul as well as Busan).
The two mega-cities would then be connected to Chongjin, which is North Korea’s third largest city. Last but not least, the line would connect to Rajin, which is the country’s industrial zone, having the highest GDP per capita.
Hopes for a brighter future
Whether the railway line will be built though is still unknown. Initially, there was another inter-Korean railway plan that had existed in early 2000. In 2007, both the North and the South did a test run for the railways, with two trains passing the demilitarized zone. Unfortunately, the broken relationship between the two countries prevented the line from being developed further.
If completed, the project will have the potential to build and foster both trade, transit, as well as peaceful political relations of the Korean Peninsula
