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Govt. shrugs off report on immense costs for building inter-Korean transport links
By YonhapPublished : Oct. 1, 2018 - 13:17
South Korea brushed off a news report Monday that reconnecting inter-Korean roads and railways would cost at least 43 trillion won ($38.7 billion), amid a growing dispute over Seoul's economic burden stemming from its future cooperation with North Korea.
The conservative Chosun Ilbo made the claim based on the state-run Korea Rail Network Authority's cost estimates obtained by an rightist opposition lawmaker. The government earlier put next year's costs at 290 billion won, drawing opposition parties' criticism that it underreported the cost for fear of public backlash.
"Detailed cost estimates are expected to come out based on the results of field surveys and so on," Baik Tae-hyun, ministry spokesman, told reporters during a regular press briefing. "Joint surveys have yet to be conducted at this point."
President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to modernize and connect roads and railways across their border when they met in April. During their summit in Pyongyang last month, the leaders also agreed to hold a ground-breaking ceremony for the construction this year.
Relevant field surveys planned on railways in the North in August were not carried out due to the United Nations Command's disapproval, which critics say might have been prompted by Washington's anxiety that inter-Korean cooperation is progressing faster than the denuclearization talks with North Korea. (Yonhap)
