Park urges N. Korea to embrace reform and openness

SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Yonhap) -- President Park Geun-hye urged North Korea Wednesday to embrace reform and openness amid a rare sign of thaw on the divided Korean Peninsula.

"I hope that North Korea will build a future for co-prosperity and development by opening its doors and choosing the path of change," Park said in a ceremony in Cheorwon, a county near the border with North Korea.

The ceremony is designed to break ground for the restoration of the South's section of a disconnected inter-Korean railroad that once linked central Seoul to the North Korean eastern city of Wonsan.

South Korea hopes to reconnect the inter-Korean rail before linking it to Russia's Trans-Siberian Railway, an ambitious project that will cut shipping times and logistics costs for South Korea's Europe-bound exports.

Discussions on the project to connect the Trans-Siberian Railway with the potential Trans-Korean Railway have been under way for more than a decade, although no major progress has been made due to geopolitical obstacles, particularly North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

Park said South Korea will seek cooperation with the United States, China and Russia over her "Eurasia Initiative" aimed at linking energy and logistics infrastructure across Asia and Europe.

"The doors of opportunity stand open for North Korea to join in this process," Park said.

She also called on North Korea to trust South Korea and join forces for inter-Korean reconciliation.

North Korea has so far ignored repeated international calls to abandon its nuclear weapons programs and emulate such countries as Vietnam and Myanmar.

Instead, North Korea has vowed to develop its economy and nuclear arsenal in tandem, viewing its nuclear programs as a powerful deterrent against what it claims is Washington's hostile policy against it.

Park's latest appeal came as former South Korean first lady Lee Hee-ho arrived in North Korea for a rare trip.

It was not immediately clear whether Lee could meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The trip is seen as a sign of thaw between the two Koreas. In July, the North threatened to cancel the trip, citing South Korea's alleged provocations.

Lee is the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, who held the first inter-Korean summit with then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the late father of current leader Kim Jong-un, in 2000.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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