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The two Koreas reportedly agreed to start implementing some key economic cooperation projects in the agreement from the inter-Korean summit before the election day in South Korea. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-il as good as agreed on the second day of talks in Seoul to open the railway line between Munsan in South Korea and Bongdong in the North to carry cargo to the Kaesong Industrial Complex before Dec. 19. They also agreed to set up in early December a new body that will establish a peace zone in the West Sea.
The repair of railways and roads and the construction of shipbuilding complexes in the North -- matters the North Korean delegation showed the most interest in -- will also likely begin before the presidential election. The Chosun Shinbo, a Pyongyang mouthpiece published by the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan or Chongryon, reported, "The North suggested the repair and modernization of the Kaesong-Shinuiju Railway Line and the Kaesong-Pyongyang Highway as the top agenda items in the current talks."
A researcher with a government-funded research institute said, "The current talks are in fact aimed at giving aid to the North. It seems the North is trying to get regime guarantees from the U.S. and economic aid from South Korea."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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