"The negotiations have been difficult. Nevertheless, we have advanced considerably on the issue of rail transport with the South Korean side, especially during the latest session of the international committee on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, which took place in Seoul last fall," Vladimir Yakunin said.
He said the negotiations on the reconstruction of the Trans-Korean Railroad were being conducted within the framework of tripartite consultations between Russia, North Korea, and South Korea.
"We are now trying to organize a demonstration trip by representatives of South Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and Russia to [Russia's] Far East regions, including visits to sea ports, for further joint consultations," he said.
"Invitations have been sent out," he said.
Earlier, South Korea proposed that North Korea and Russia invite other states to discuss financial problems of linking the Trans-Korean Railroad with the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
RZD has been negotiating the reconstruction of the eastern sector of the Trans-Korean Railroad and its linkup to the Trans-Siberian Railroad for the past few years. The problem was brought up in August 2002, when Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il discussed the idea of linking up the South and North Korean railroads to create an uninterrupted railroad from the Far Eastern ports to western Europe.
