Seoul, million dollar investment to improve communications with Pyongyang
Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Seoul will provide fibre optics and other equipment to North Korea to modernize military communication lines, the only channel of direct contact between the two Koreas. It is the first joint project since the election of conservative Lee Myung-bak as South Korean president, in early 2008. The total investment guaranteed by the South will amount to about 2 billion won (1.7 million dollars).
The South Korean Ministry for Unification reports that the project will put an end to years of "frustration" caused by problems in communication between the two countries, separated by the war of '50s. The problems are caused by wear of the materials used in the only line of contact - which crosses the border, along the east Korean sea - and which has never been replaced.
"We have encountered many difficulties - says Lee Jong-joo, a spokesman for the South Korean ministry for relations between the two countries - because of the age and poor quality of the communications lines. Just last month there were 30 cases of malfunctioning”. The official added that the North has called for the replacement of copper telephone wires.
Seoul will provide all necessary materials to Pyongyang. According to the South Korean Yonhap News Agency, both sides will start their work on 28 October, in each territory. The maintenance should last a couple of months and presents difficulties caused by the land at the border, scattered with mines and highly militarized.
A first draft of the renovation of the phone line was proposed in 2007, but the rise to power of the conservative South Korean administration slowed the process. Lee Myung-bak has always conditioned aid and economic support, to the interruption of the North Korean nuclear program. Pyongyang’s recent signs of openness have helped to defuse - in part - the climate of tension.
The military line that crosses the East Sea is the main channel of contact used by the two countries to exchange lists of people crossing the border, toward the North Korean industrial complex in Kaesong.
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