Russia, North Korea discuss port-connected cross-border rail link

Russia, North Korea discuss port-connected cross-border rail link A Russian delegation arrived in North Korea Sunday to discuss a joint project to rebuild a cross-border rail link, according to a report in Agence France-Presse.
   The meeting, reported in North Korean media outlets, will entail discussing the provision of power to the northeastern port of Rajin.
   “Russian officials have visited North Korea to discuss modernizing the 55-kilometer (34-mile) line between Rajin and Russia’s Khasan,” the AFP story said. “Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed interest in connecting the Rajin-Khasan line to the Trans-Siberian Railway. Last year, North Korea reportedly agreed to open Rajin further to foreign ships in an attempt to make it a regional transport hub. South Korea sees the port project as an efficient alternative to renovating dilapidated rail networks running the length of North Korea and linking them to the Russian railway. Reconstruction of North Korea’s railways would cost about $2.5 billion, according to Russian estimates.”