South and North Korea Agree to Open Seven Trade Ports Each

South and North Korea Agree to Open Seven Trade Ports Each. June. 06, 2004 22:09. by Jin-Hup Song Seung-Ryun Kim jinhup@donga.com srkim@donga.com.

Before the end of this year, South Korea will provide 400,000 tons of rice to North Korea in the form of a loan.

In addition, both South and North Korea will each open seven ports to one another, in order for South and North Korean ships to directly transport goods without having to use third party ships.

The delegations of both South and North Korea concluded the agreement during the “9th “South-North Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee” held in Yang Gak Do Hotel, Pyong-yang, on June 5.

According to the agreement, South Korea will deliver 400,000 tons of rice requested by North Korea, for humanitarian reasons. 400,000 tons of rice amounts to 8.9% of the 4 million, 450,000 tons of rice produced in South Korea last year. South Korea has also provided North Korea with 400,000 tons of domestic rice in 2002 and 2003, respectively.

Furthermore, in order to increase inter-Korean trade, North Korea will open seven ports: Nampo, Haeju, Kosung, Wonsan, Hungnam, Chunjin, Najin; While South Korea will open the ports of Inchon, Kunsan, Yeosu, Pusan, Ulsan, Pohang, Sokcho, creating sea-lanes for the free movement of South and North Korean ships.

Hence, inter-Korean cooperation will gain momentum because there will not be the need for third country ships to transport goods between South and North Korea.

In reference to the Gaesung industrial complex, in order to create products in the pilot complex (the size of 28,000 pyong), both Koreas agreed to the operate the optic and electric cables connecting the Moonsan – Gaesung – Gaesung complex by charging the users, beginning in September.

The Donghae road connecting South and North Korea will open in late October, after a military security mechanism is created, while the Kyunghui railway will open next year after the construction of a linking block of the railway is completed.

Lastly, a list of demands by South Korean companies operating in North Korea, such as allowing South Korean technicians to stay in North Korea to train skills, accommodating communication, and shortening the delay in the procedure of proving certificates of origin; was agreed to by both South and North Korea in active cooperation to solve problems arising in their respective sectors.

Both Koreas also agreed to hold the 10th “South-North Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee” from August 31 to September 3 in Seoul.

36 members of the South Korean delegation, including Kim Kwang Rim, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy, left Pyong-yang Sun-an airport in the morning of June 5 by Kyoro airline and came back to Seoul via Beijing.