Final details in place; rail ceremonies are set to go

The two Koreas will hold ground-breaking ceremonies to begin building cross-border rail and road links at 11 a.m. Wednesday. The ceremonies will take place at four locations -- two near the eastern Demilitarized Zone and two near the western border.

South and North Korea concluded two sets of talks Tuesday. An agreement on logistics arrangements was released after a working-level meeting at the North's Mount Geumgang resort, and military safeguard pacts took effect with the final round of military talks at the truce village of Panmunjeom.

At last month's economic talks, the two Koreas agreed to restore the Gyeongui and East Coast lines, along with roads running parallel to the railroads. The Gyeongui Line connects Seoul and the northwestern city of Sinuiju on the west side of the peninsula; the East Coast Line links Wonsan in the North and Gangneung in the South. The rails and roads have been severed for half a century since the Korean War armistice in 1953.

The South's ceremonies will be at the Dorasan Station near the western border for the Gyeongui Line and the Goseong Unification Observatory near the eastern border for the East Coast Line. The Northern ceremonies will be at stations in Gaeseong, 78 kilometers northwest of Seoul, and Onjeong-ri near Mount Geumgang.

The sides agreed Tuesday that a two-lane road parallel to the East Coast Line would be completed by the end of November; cars will pass through the eastern border starting in early December. The road, connecting the border towns of Goseong in the North and Songhyeon-ri in the South, is expected to boost the sagging Mount Geumgang tourist operation by providing cheaper but faster travel options.

The two Koreas will complete 15.3 kilometers of the Gyeongui Line in the North, from Gaeseong to the military demarcation line, and another 1.8 kilometers in the South from Dorasan Station to the border by the end of this year. A four-lane road will be built from the site of the North Korean Gaeseong industrial complex to South Korea.

The South will lend materials and equipment worth 50 billion won ($41.7 million) to the South. The package envisions a 20-year repayment period and 10-year grace period at an annual interest rate of 1 percent.

Demining operations will begin Thursday on both sides of the DMZ.

by Joint Press Corps