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A North Korean cargo ship arrived in South Korea's port city of Busan on Sunday for the first time since the Korean War.
At 10 a.m. on Sunday the 1,853-ton freighter Kangsong marked with the North Korean flag was anchored near the southeastern port of Busan. A Busan maritime police vessel carrying reporters approached within 30 meters of the cargo ship.
"How do you feel to be at Busan port?" the reporters asked. "Great," the North Korean sailors answered. The sailors looked cheerful as they waved to the visitors. The ship with its crew of 27 had pulled into the port around 12:30 a.m.
Earlier, at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, two officials with the National Quarantine Station boarded the vessel for inspection. Lee Jong-suk, an official with Kukbo Express Co., the local agent for the cargo ship, joined them to explain the docking procedures.
The entire North Korean crew greeted Lee and the inspectors. Some of the senior officers including Captain Kang exchanged handshakes and business cards with Lee.
"They were all very polite," Lee said. "It was very exciting for me to meet the North Korean crew face to face and to see a North Korean ship make a regular round-trip voyage between the two Koreas."
On Monday the freighter will dock at 8 or 9 a.m. at Busan's Gamcheon Port where it will take on 60 containers including 50 empty 20-foot containers and 10 empty 40-foot containers. It will sail for Rajin in North Korea on Monday at 6 p.m.
Busan Port Authority plans to give a welcome bouquet of flowers to the North Korean captain when the freighter docks at the port. The North Korean ship received 25 tons of fuel oil and 1.2 tons of lubricating oil at Busan port. The crew didn't order any food or cigarettes.
The arrival of the North Korean ship is in accordance with an inter-Korean maritime agreement which came into effect in 2005. The Kangsong will make three round trips between Busan and Rajin every month.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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