Government Proposes both North-South Prime Ministers to Participate in the Opening Ceremony of Gyeongui Line Railroad

It was confirmed on Friday that the government had proposed to the North for the participation of high-ranking authorities, including the prime ministers of both nations, in the opening ceremony of the North-South railroad Gyeongui Line, East Sea line, and highway connections. The government authorities expressed, “In the notification sent by telephone to the North on September 24, we explained in detail about the ceremony arranged by the government and notified our plans of Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan participating in the Gyeongui Line Railroad ceremony and Unification Minister Chung Dong-young participating in the East Sea Line Railroad ceremony.”

Even during the North-South highway connection working-level meeting held in Janamsan Inn in Kaesong, North Korea, from October 12-14, the government delivered its opinion to hold the opening ceremony amidst the presence of North-South high-ranking authorities, however, it was reported that the North responded in a “let’s not discuss that issue on a working-level but during a meeting of authorities” manner.

taewon_ha@donga.com