SEOUL, South Korea — When the two men met in April, South Korea president Moon Jae-in reportedly gave North Korea’s Kim Jong Un a thumb drive containing plans for economic cooperation between the two nations.
Among those plans, according to CityLab, were the concept for a $35 billion rail line to connect the two countries.
Initially, the plan would build a line connecting Seoul, Pyongyang, and a major crossing between North Korea and China. The ultimate goal would be a high speed line connecting the two nations, along with a rebuilding of other major North Korean routes.
North Korea’s rail lines are currently limited to a top speed of 60 mph and occasionally see rails break under heavy loads, the article reports. (Kim reportedly told his South Korean counterpart that he would be “embarrassed” to have Moon travel in North Korea because “our transportation, honestly, would be uncomfortable.”)
The South Korean plan would rebuild the North Korean lines to 60-mph standards. It would also provide connections from South Korea to Russia’s Trans-Siberian Railroad and the primary crossing between North Korea and China, creating more possibilities for trade between the Koreas, China and Europe.
The full CityLab report is available here.
