Reaching the Korea-Russia Friendship Bridge at the End of the Donghae Line: An Emotional Experience

North and South Korean military authorities conduct a mutual verification of eleven guard posts each, which they destroyed and withdrew on December 12 according to the September 19 military agreement. The North Korean inspection team is verifying the South Korean front-line guard posts in the central border area

South Korean inspectors who took part in the North-South Korea joint inspection of the Donghae railway line in North Korea returned on December 17 after completing a ten-day inspection. The government will dispatch an advance party to North Korea this week and begin preparations for the groundbreaking ceremony for the connection and modernization of the Gyeongui and Donghae Line railways and roads scheduled for December 26.

The twenty-eight inspectors including Im Jong-il, manager of construction and transportation at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Bak Sang-don, second manager of negotiations at the inter-Korean dialogue headquarters at the Ministry of Unification returned by bus on the Donghae road this afternoon. At the inter-Korean Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Office on the Donghae Line in Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do, Im said, "We covered about 800 km at 30km/h in eight days. Overall, the condition of the railway was similar to the Gyeongui Line." He also said, "We went as far as the Friendship Bridge linking North Korea and Russia over the Tumen River at the end of the Donghae Line. I doubt anyone has ever been there. We were all choked up and greatly moved." The South Korean six-car train, which traveled on the Donghae Line in North Korean territory for the first time since the division, following the inspection of the Gyeongui Line, will return to South Korea via the Gyeongui Line on December 18.

"Inspection Team Examines North Korean Railway Bridge: Joint Inspection of Donghae Line Complete" South Korean railway inspectors who took part in the joint inspection of the Donghae railway line in North Korea examine Sidaecheongyo Bridge in South Hamgyong Province on December 12. The South Korean inspectors completed the ten-day inspection and returned on December 17. The two Koreas will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the connection and modernization of the Gyeongui and Donghae railway and roads on December 26. Courtesy of the Ministry of Unification

The South Korean government has begun preparations for the groundbreaking ceremony at Panmun Station in North Korea on December 26. Baik Tae-hyun, spokesperson for the unification ministry said, "From what I know, an advance party will be sent (to North Korea) this week to prepare for the ceremony."

Meanwhile, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced this day that they confirmed the destruction of eleven guard posts in the North's side of the demilitarized zone (DMZ). They verified that the posts could no longer be used for military purposes. Thus the two Koreas have implemented the September 19 military agreement, in which they agreed to dismantle eleven guard posts each by the end of this year.

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