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Koreas agree cross-border train Koreas agree cross-border train
(about 11 hours later)
Military officers from North and South Korea have given the go-ahead for the first train crossing over the heavily fortified border in more than 50 years. North and South Korea have ended four days of high-level military talks with agreement on cross-border train tests and the disputed western sea border.
A test-run on 17 May will see one train cross from the North on the east coast and another cross from the South on the west coast, officials said. In a joint statement the two sides said they had agreed to provide security guarantees for a rail test-run across the border planned for next week.
It will be the first such crossing since rail links between the two were severed during the 1950-53 Korean War. They also agreed to create a joint fishing zone in the West Sea, the scene of bloody naval clashes in the past.
Tracks have been reconnected as part of recent reconciliation projects. Analysts say the deal is a significant breakthrough for the two Koreas.
Generals from the two Koreas agreed to provide military security for the trial during talks held in the truce village of Panmunjom - the first such high-level talks for a year. Reconciliation projects
Despite agreement on the trains, the talks continued overnight as the two sides worked on the wording of a joint statement to be released on Friday. South Korea has long sought security guarantees from the North for a train to cross the heavily fortified border.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the talks were extended because North Korea wanted to discuss the countries' disputed western maritime border. The test-run, scheduled for 17 May, will see the first such crossing since rail links between the two were severed during the 1950-53 Korean War.
Under the planned one-off run, two passenger trains will travel about 25km (16 miles) and terminate their journeys a few kilometres inside the opposite territory.
Reports say Seoul has been pressing to make the crossings more than a one-off event - eventually sending cargo and passenger trains to China, Russia and areas of Europe and Asia.
Mutual advantages
A trial-crossing planned last year was cancelled by North Korea after the South rejected its demand that the disputed maritime border on the west coast be redrawn.
KOREAN BORDER 240km long and 4km wide, the DMZ takes up about 0.5% of Korean peninsulaN Korea has 1.1m man army along the border. S Korea and US forces total more than 700,000KOREAN BORDER 240km long and 4km wide, the DMZ takes up about 0.5% of Korean peninsulaN Korea has 1.1m man army along the border. S Korea and US forces total more than 700,000
"The two sides have decided to discuss the issue of adopting a statement of agreement on military security for the operations of railways and roads," the joint statement said.
If the test goes ahead, a train will cross from the North on the east coast and another will cross from the South on the west coast, officials said.
They will travel about 25km (16 miles) and terminate their journeys a few kilometres inside the opposite territory.
Tracks have been reconnected - alongside roads - as part of recent reconciliation projects.
The talks by generals in the truce village of Panmunjom were extended into a fourth day so they could seek a resolution to the disputed maritime border, Yonhap news agency reported.
Pyongyang does not recognise the border drawn by the United Nations at the end of the Korean War, which has resulted in naval clashes over the rich fishing grounds.Pyongyang does not recognise the border drawn by the United Nations at the end of the Korean War, which has resulted in naval clashes over the rich fishing grounds.
The North raised the sea border issue at this week's talks, but appears not to have made it a condition to agree on security arrangements for the rail test. Previous talks on cross-border trains have collapsed because of the North's insistence that the sea border issue be discussed.
Although the two sides are still technically at war - the peace treaty to officially end it was never signed - links have slowly been re-established in recent years as the South has sought to engage with its secretive neighbour. "The two sides have shared the view that preventing military conflict and creating a joint fishing zone in the West Sea is an issue to be urgently resolved in the course of easing military tension and establishing peace," Friday's joint statement read.
If and when the rail link finally opens, there are obvious advantages for both sides. This is the latest in a series of relationships that have slowly been re-established between the two sides in recent years, as the South has sought to engage with the secretive neighbour it is still technically at war with.
For South Korea, it would mean that goods produced using cheap North Korean labour, in a joint industrialised zone to the north of the border, could be more easily transported out of the country. A rail link would bring advantages to both sides. For South Korea, it would mean easily transporting goods produced using cheap North Korean labour, and for the North, it would boost the tourist trade.
For the North, it would boost the tourist trade, providing a link to a mountain resort on the east coast popular with South Koreans.