Korea and Taiwan agree to air service

Ending a break of more than a decade, South Korea and Taiwan agreed yesterday to restore the severed commercial air route between the two.
The Ministry of Construction and Transportation said yesterday that delegates from Korea and Taiwan signed an agreement in Taipei to re-establish an air route between their capital cities. Hwang Yong-shik, head of the South Korean mission in Taipei, and Li Tsai-fang, representative of the Taipei mission in Korea, signed the pact.
Direct air routes between South Korea and Taiwan were cut in 1992 by Taipei after Seoul established diplomatic relations with China.
The Transportation Ministry said carriers from both parties will operate 18 weekly flights, providing 4,500 seats between Incheon and Taipei. Flights to and from other cities will be determined later based on demand, the accord said.
Cargo flights will link South Korea and Taiwan twice a week, but the two sides will decide later on a start date.
Under the accord, Korean commercial aircraft will be able to fly through Taiwanese territorial airspace, the ministry said. For the past 12 years, Korean planes traveling to and from Southeast Asian cities have had to detour through the sovereign airspace of China or the Philippines. About 170 weekly flights will use new beelines over Taiwan, saving Korean carriers 33 billion won ($29 million) in fuel and overflight fees, the ministry said.
South Korea and Taiwan cut direct air links on Sept. 15, 1992; charter flights have linked Seoul and Taipei since then. In 1991, 1,019,473 passengers flew between South Korea and Taiwan; numbers in 2003 were 576,157, according to the transportation ministry in Seoul.

by Ser Myo-ja