By Kim Young Deok and Kim Young Shin

South and North Korea agreed on Oct. 15 to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction to modernize and connect roads as well as railways on the Gyeongui line and the Donghae Line around the end of November or early December this year.

The two Koreas held a high-level talk on that day at Peace House in Panmunjeom and jointly announced seven items they had agreed on. The items include connection of railways and roads and other cooperative projects such as reunions of the war-separated families and cooperation in the military, forestry and sports.

Particularly, the two sides agreed to hold general-grade military talks at an early date to discuss ending the military hostilities and to coordinate the operation of the inter-Korean joint military committee as mentioned in the Agreement on the Implementation of the Panmunjeom Declaration in the Military Domain.

The two Koreas also agreed to conduct joint inspections on the Gyeongui Line at the end of October and Donahae Line in early November to prepare for the actual connection.

In addition, the two sides will hold talks to discuss cooperation on forests and in welfare and sports by the end of this month at the liaison office.

The forestry cooperation talks to preserve the ecosystem of the Korean Peninsula will be held on Oct. 22, and health and medical talks to prevent inflow of infectious disease, at the end of October.

Sports talks to discuss joint participation in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and to plan co-hosting the 2032 summer Olympics will also be held at the liaison office at the end of this month.

The two Koreas will also hold Red Cross talks on Geumgangsan Mountain in November for the restoration of the reunion center for the war-separated families and on video chatting between the families.

The South Korean delegation that attended the high-level meeting on that day was headed by the Minister of Unification Cho Myoung-Gyon and the North’s delegation by Chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country Ri Son Gwon.

kyd1991@korea.kr