South and North Korea have exchanged reports related to a rail project that aims to link the peninsula, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Wednesday.

Officials from the two countries met Monday at the inter-Korean liaison office in the border city of Kaesong to exchange the reports.

Seoul shared the outcome of a joint field study that they had conducted in December on the northern section of the Seoul-Sinuiju western railways and the railway running along the eastern region of the Korean Peninsula.

Pyongyang, for its part, shared details of designs, construction guidelines for its roads and rail lines and other information needed for the project, it added.

“The report from the North will be an important reference in planning modernization and connection of roads and railways,” the ministry said in a statement.

The railway project, which the leaders of the two Koreas committed to at their April 27 summit last year, is key to laying the groundwork for South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s blueprint for inter-Korean economic cooperation.

Despite South Korea’s eagerness to expand inter-Korean projects, many of them, including the railway reconnection work, have been on hold due to international sanctions on the North.

“The two Koreas will draw up detailed construction plans in consideration of progress in denuclearization talks and the possible easing of sanctions on Pyongyang,” the ministry said.


By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)