By Lee Kyoung Mi and Sohn JiAe

South Korea and North Korea are now accelerating inter-Korean cooperation as part of efforts to carry out the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration.

Seoul and Pyeongyang are scheduled to hold a series of meetings to find ways to cooperate on railways, roads and forestry.

On June 26, the two sides held discussions at the Peace House in Panmunjeom to talk about ways to connect the trains near Donghae and along the Gyeongui Line.

A working meeting on road infrastructure will be held at the Thongil House, the northern part of Panmunjeom, on June 28, to discuss road connections and the modernization of infrastructure. Another meeting on forestry cooperation is scheduled for July 4.



Meanwhile, the two Koreas also recently agreed to restore severed military communication lines along the eastern and western coasts as soon as possible.

The South Korean Ministry of National Defense said concerning the outcome of a colonel-level meeting on inter-Korean military communications held at the Inter-Korean Transit Office in Paju, Gyeonggi-do Province, on June 25 that, “Both sides agreed that nothing is more urgent than restoring the long-severed inter-Korean military communication lines so as to carry out the Panmunjeom agreements involving military issues.”

Prior to the meeting, the defense ministry of South Korea and the department of defense in the U.S. also agreed to suspend the Korean Marine Exchange Program (KMEP) training exercises, along with the latest decision to suspend the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills.

Efforts on the reunion of families separated by the Korean War are being made, as well. A session to decide on selection criteria for candidates for the upcoming reunions took place at the Korean Red Cross in Seoul on June 25. A preliminary list of 500 candidates was selected with priority given to the elderly and to those with direct family members in the North.

The final list of 100 candidates will be exchanged between the two Koreas on Aug. 4 after checking whether any relatives in the North are still alive. On June 27, a South Korean inspection group will travel to the North so that it can repair the venue for family reunions.

km137426@korea.kr