South Korea Is Willing To Invest Nearly 40 Billion Won On a Railroad To Connect North Korea With The World

After South Korean President Moon Jae In and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a historic promise to achieve more unification between the two countries, much of the focus has been put on the blueprint for connecting North Korea to the rest of the world.  During the peace talks, President Moon Jae In handed Kim Jong Un a USB drive that contained a blueprint of a railway that would connect Seoul to Shinuiju, North Korea via Pyongyang and Kaesong.

Early last year, in preparation for the unification, the South Korean government had come up with a master plan to unify the Korean peninsula by railway. The plan calls for an investment of about $34.5 billion USD for the improvement and construction of 7 railway lines within North Korea.

An authority of Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) indicated that although the plan was made during the previous administration, it is likely to be used as the foundation for the North-Korea railroad system of the future. The main goal of this plan is to extend the existing Gyeongui Line. The 217 mph, high-speed railway will then connect Seoul to Shinuiju.

Existing lines such as the Gyeongui Line, Pyongra Line (Pyongyang~Najin), Gangwon Line (Pyonggang~Kowon) and Hambuk Line (Chongjin~Najin) will be improved to operate at a speed of up to 62 mph. The current railways of North Korea are known to run at a speed of less than 30 mph due to deterioration. In terms of the Gyeongwon Line (Seoul~Wonsan), only plans for improvement of the Woljeongri~Pyonggang area past the existing Yeoncheon~Cheorwon have been made so far.