As a milestone in reconciliation, for the first time since the Korean cold war border closed in 1951, two North and South Korean trains crossed the heavily armed border on Thursday.
The trains carried 100 South Koreans and 50 North Koreans including celebrities, politicians and a South Korean conductor from one of the last trains to cross before the rail link cut in 1951.
Upon the arrival of the South Korean train, which was seen off to fireworks and traditional drumming, hundreds of people waved flags showing a unified Korean Peninsula in blue on a white background.
To welcome the train, one of the South Korean soldiers opened a gate across the track at the southern end of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) buffer on the East coast. The train had a banner reading The Train Once Boarded by Great President Kim Il-Sung. Children presented flowers to officials upon arrival at the station.
Major South Korean network carried the live of the crossing.
The passengers from North and South Korea dined together and the conductor from North shook hand with the South Korean stationmaster, which was the sign of unification.
South Korea shares the border with only North and eventually wishes to send the passengers and cargo via its neighbor into China and Russia and link with the Trans-Siberian railway.
If North Korea allows the rail link to develop, export dependent South Korea could see huge savings in moving a cargo.
This is the first step of reconciliation that Korean governments have taken and is anticipated to prove successful.
Source: Reuters
