Another sign of past inter-Korean cooperation is being torn down in North Korea:
South Korea’s spy agency said Wednesday it has detected signs that North Korea has recently been demolishing some sections on the northern side of the inter-Korean railway on the east coast in an apparent move to erase the legacy of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation.
South and North Korea agreed to restore two railways — the Gyeongui and Donghae — in 2000, when the divided countries held the first summit of their leaders. The Donghae railway linked eastern coastal cities across the heavily fortified border.
Another UN sanctions exemption for little to nothing in return from North Korea:
The United Nations Security Council has granted a sanctions exemption that will allow North and South Korea to move forward with a joint railway project, according to a report.
Seoul had requested an exemption for the delivery of fuel and other material needed to conduct a survey in North Korea focused on reconnecting cross-border railways.
The request was approved Friday by the security council’s North Korea sanctions committee, a foreign ministry official said according to the Yonhap News Agency.
The decision comes days after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the South that it should not improve ties with the North without marked progress in nuclear talks. [Stars & Stripes]
