Russia proposing freight terminal in North Korea

Russia proposing freight terminal in North Korea OAO Russian Railways plans to build a $100 million container terminal in North Korea as the world’s largest rail company tries to create a land transport corridor linking Asia to Europe, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
   'The state-run railways wants to turn the North Korean port of Rajin into a hub capable of handling 320,000 containers a year for shipment across Russia to Europe,' the Bloomberg story said, according to a company statement distributed to reporters.
   'The investment is part of a plan that originated in 2001, when North Korean leader Kim Jong Il traveled by rail from Pyongyang to Moscow to visit President Vladimir Putin. As the first step in linking the Korean peninsula to the Trans-Siberian Railway, Russian Railways is upgrading 54 kilometers of track from the border south of Vladivostok to Rajin. Russian Railways will spend ($70 million) on improving the track, the company said. Another $100 million will be needed to turn Rajin port into a terminal capable of loading containers shipped from South Korea on to freight trains bound for Europe.'
   The proposed rail line has faced numerous delays and no completion date was mentioned in the report. However, the terminal would be run by a Russian-North Korean joint venture.