The Republic of Korea (ROK)'s unification ministry said on Friday that the country's economic cooperation with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) would be possible under denuclearization and improved inter-Korean relations.
The ministry said in its report to the National Assembly's special committee on inter-Korean economic cooperation that the smooth inter-Korean economic cooperation would be made possible under a virtuous cycle of the Korean Peninsula's denuclearization and improved inter-Korean ties.
The report said the ROK will drive the virtuous cycle by helping the DPRK and the United States hold a second summit and encouraging the second Pyongyang-Washington summit to go smoothly.
Through the development of inter-Korean relations, South Korea will make continued efforts to encourage the DPRK to help denuclearize the peninsula, according to the report.
For the inter-Korean economic projects, conditions should be met such as progress in denuclearization talks and the easing of sanctions on the DPRK, the ministry said.
The ministry of trade, industry and energy said in a separate report to the parliamentary committee that it will push for a broad range of inter-Korean economic cooperation in industry, national resources and energy if conditions are met such as the denuclearization and the lifting of sanctions on Pyongyang.
South Korean soldiers gather at Arrowhead Ridge, a site of battles in the 1950-53 Korean War, as a tactical road is built across the military demarcation line inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the central section of the inter-Korean border in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, ROK, November 22, 2018. /VCG Photo
The ministry said effective inter-Korean economic cooperation will be advanced for following the easing or lifting of sanctions on the DPRK in the process of denuclearization, but it noted that it will make steady preparations in advance for a smooth cooperation when the conditions are met.
The ROK and the DPRK on Friday agreed to actively cooperate in upgrading the direct communications line between the two sides.
The agreement was reached following the working-level talks on upgrading the decrepit communications line across the border, which were held earlier in the day at the inter-Korean liaison office in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong.
During the talks, the two sides shared the view that the decrepit direct communications line between the authorities of the two Koreas needed to be replaced with optical cables. The current line is made of copper.
The five-member South Korean delegation was led by Chung Chang-min, a director-general-level official with the Ministry of Science and ICT. The DPRK delegation was represented by Ri Yong Min, a senior official in charge of communications affairs.