Inter-Korean roads severed again: N. Korea squanders 180 billion won from South, future responsibility in question

[Anchor]

Along with the inter-Korean liaison office that was blown up by North Korea during the last Moon Jae-in administration, the Gyeongui Line and Donghae Line were another symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

Reporter Lee Rang has investigated the significance of theses roads, which have been cut off for 22 years, and how our government will respond in the future.

[Report]

Following the first inter-Korean summit in 2000, the two Koreas agreed to connect the Gyeongui Line and Donghae Line railways and roads, and in September 2002, they held a groundbreaking ceremony simultaneously. By the end of that year, temporary roads were completed.

Along this road, logistics for companies in the Kaesong Industrial Complex and tourists to Mount Kumgang busily traveled between the South and the North for several years.

As a result, the work to connect the railways and roads that had been severed due to division has been regarded not only as having historical significance in reconnecting the waist of the divided land but also as a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation.

In this process, a total of USD 132.9 million worth of South Korean in-kind loans were provided over six years until 2008 for the connection of roads and railways.

At the current exchange rate, this amounts to 180 billion won.

However, after 22 years since the groundbreaking, North Korea blew up these roads, causing the substantial South Korean investment to vanish into thin air, and effectively delivering a death sentence to the last remaining inter-Korean economic cooperation project.

The government has stated that since our in-kind loans supported the railway and road connection project, it will hold North Korea accountable.

[Koo Byeong-sam/Spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification: "This was constructed through the provision of materials and equipment amounting to a total of USD 132.9 million at their request, and we reaffirm that the repayment obligation for this loan still lies with North Korea."]

Previously, after North Korea blew up the inter-Korean liaison office, which had South Korean budget input, in 2020, the government filed a lawsuit last June seeking 44.7 billion won in damages against North Korea.

Military authorities have identified that the land routes in the area of Arrowhead Ridge have also been blocked, leaving the only remaining passage between the two Koreas effectively the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the Panmunjom area, which is under UN control.

This is Lee Rang from KBS News.