A delegation from the Republic of Korea (ROK) left for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for reconnecting roads and railways across the divided peninsula despite stalled denuclearization talks.
A nine-car special train carrying some 100 ROK nationals, including officials and five people born in the DPRK, was seen leaving Seoul railway station early in the morning for a two-hour journey to the DPRK border city of Kaesong.
Ri Son Gwon, chairman of DPRK's state agency in charge of inter-Korean ties, and Vice Railway Minister Kim Yun Hyok, will lead the DPRK participants in the event, Yonhap reported.
Seoul earlier received sanctions exemptions on materials and items needed to hold the event in the DPRK through close consultations with Washington.
ROK President Moon Jae-in and the DPRK leader Kim Jong Un agreed to hold the ceremony by the end of this year when they met at their third summit in Pyongyang in September.
Seoul stressed that the ceremony would not herald the start of actual work on reconnecting and modernizing road and rail links between the two Koreas – which remain technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended without a peace treaty.
The event is a mere "expression of a commitment" to the projects, a spokesperson for the ROK Unification Ministry said, adding that construction would depend on "progress on the DPRK's denuclearization and circumstances concerning sanctions."
The two sides wrapped up their joint railway and road inspections for the projects this month.
Trump said on Monday that he was "looking forward" to his second summit with Kim, which Washington says may take place early next year.
He tweeted the statement after he was briefed by Stephen Biegun, the US special representative on DPRK, who wrapped up a three-day trip to Seoul on Saturday.
U.S. President Trump tweeted a picture of himself on Christmas Day as he reviewed progress on the Korean Peninsula.
Biegun said last week the United States will be more lenient in enforcing its blanket ban on US citizens' travel to the state when dealing with aid workers, a goodwill gesture as Trump seeks a fresh summit.
Biegun also said in Seoul last week Washington was willing to discuss trust-building initiatives with Pyongyang.
Senior transport officials from Russia, China and Mongolia as well as several foreign ambassadors to the ROK will attend Wednesday's ceremony, the ROK Unification Ministry said.
