ROK, DPRK hold talks to discuss road connection cooperation

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) held talks on Thursday to discuss cooperation in modernizing and connecting roads across the border, Seoul's unification ministry said.

The ministry said in a statement that the two Koreas had a working-level contact on inter-Korean road cooperation earlier in the day at the joint liaison office in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong.

The meeting was attended by three transportation officials each from the two sides.

During the meeting, the officials discussed an on-spot inspection on roads along the eastern Korean Peninsula, the exchange of documents on road-relevant standard and the interchange of road-relevant personnel.

Detailed discussion would be made between the two sides through the exchange of letter or another working-level contact in the near future, according to the Seoul ministry.

ROK President Moon Jae-in and DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un agreed during their first summit meeting in April last year to modernize and eventually connect railways and roads along the eastern and western peninsula.

The two Koreas jointly conducted on-spot surveys on the eastern and western railways of the DPRK last year, while the DPRK road along the western region was jointly inspected. The eastern DPRK road had yet to be surveyed.

The ROK and the DPRK held a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for the railway and road connections in December last year, but construction had yet to be launched over international sanctions on Pyongyang and the ongoing denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington.