“PEACE TRAIN” VIA PYONGYANG

[Anchor Lead]

Koreans living in China are organizing a train service that will travel from Beijing to Seoul through Pyongyang. The so-called "peace train" service is part of the homecoming program that celebrates the two-year anniversary, of the April 27th inter-Korean declaration. Within the space of a month, nearly 400 Korean expats living in China and other places around the globe, have signed up for the service slated for late April of next year.

[Pkg]

Representatives of Koreans living in the city of Dalian, Liaoning Province in China have gathered to discuss the April 27th peace train project. Organized by overseas Koreans in China, the project celebrates the second anniversary of the inter-Korean declaration issued on April 27th. If the service is successfully set up, the train will depart from Beijing near the end of next April and travel through Dandong in China and Sinuiju and Pyongyang in North Korea before arriving in Seoul. The whole route is expected to take five days. Organizers are also reviewing an itinerary that departs from Shenyang.

[Soundbite] JEONG GWANG-IL(CHAIR, ORGANIZING COMMITTEE FOR PEACE TRAIN) : "I think the Chinese government may want to travel between Pyongyang and Seoul on this train."

The train can carry 427 people and some 390 overseas Koreans have already signed up for the service within a month since the project was put together.

[Soundbite] KIM SEONG-SU(ORGANIZING COMMITTEE FOR PEACE TRAIN) : "Koreans in China hope that this project will better connect South and North Korea and help their businesses thrive."

Since the April 27th peace train crosses the Demilitarized Zone, it must be approved by not only the two Koreas and China, but also the UN Command. The organizing committee says that North Korea has responded positively to the peace train service. In the end, however, the ambitious plan is likely to be affected by how the denuclearization talks progress between Pyongyang and Washington.