Here is already possibly billions in investment dollars to upgrade North Korea’s infrastructure for the little to nothing the Kim regime has tangibly offered in return:
In this photo taken on April 27, 2018, a man takes a photo of a bulletin that reads “The Steelhorse Wants to Run!” at a train stop no longer in use in a city of Gangwon Province near the border with North Korea. (Yonhap)
The historic inter-Korean summit is raising hopes for cooperation on social overhead capital (SOC) projects as the leaders of South and North Korea agreed on Friday to link cross-border roads and railways.
In the joint statement released by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after their summit, the two Koreas agreed to push forward the SOC projects agreed upon by late South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2007 for balanced growth and joint prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.
As part of the first step, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to connect cross-border roads and railways and upgrade the existing infrastructure, the two sides said.
The plan includes taking practical steps to utilize the Gyeongui railway, which links Shinuiju, a city on the Korean Peninsula’s border with China, and Seoul.
During the summit talks, Moon said if the railroad is connected with the North, both South and North Korea can make use of trains in the future. Kim praised the quality of the railway that connects Seoul and PyeongChang, the site of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in February. [Yonhap]
The Park Administration is still pushing forward with this plan to connect road and rails to North Korea:
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday it will push forward a project this year to restore severed sections of inter-Korean railroads and highways.
The project was announced as part of the ministry’s 2015 agenda. It is also part of the Park Geun-hye administration’s ambitious proposal to operate trains from Seoul to cities in the North this summer in celebration of the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule – but only if Pyongyang goes along.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Unification unveiled a plan to restore the two Koreas’ western and eastern railways to operate trains this summer from Seoul to the North Korean cities of Rajin and Sinuiju. Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae has said the goal is to link the railways and have trains operating in time for the Aug. 15 Liberation Day.
While the Park government is optimistic that Pyongyang will accept the offer, North Korea has yet to even respond to the proposals. Despite the North’s silence, the Transport Ministry announced Tuesday it will push forward the project by restoring missing sections of railways and highways in the South to the inter-Korean border. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but I see this ending two ways, either North Korea getting free roads and rails for little to nothing in return or a whole bunch of potential hostages whenever the North needs to manufacture a reason to keep some.
