China to renew border rail link with N. Korea

SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- China will mend a rail link between one of its border
cities and a North Korean port, a source familiar with North Korean affairs said
Sunday, a move that indicates stronger economic ties between the two allies.
North Korea and the municipal government of the Chinese city of Tumen, which
borders the North, have recently agreed to repair the railway linking the city
with North Korea's northeastern port of Chongjin, the source said.
The source, requesting not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, added
Tumen will lend Pyongyang US$10 million, which will partly fund the restoration
of the 170-kilometer-long railroad. Construction is due to begin in April this
year, he said.
"The agreement on repairing the railway indicates North Korea has also agreed on
letting China use the Chongjin Port, which will give it better access to the East
Sea," another source said.
China -- which views North Korea as underdeveloped in terms of technology, but a
convenient source of minerals and natural resources -- has been increasing its
North Korea investment in recent years, reaching deals on mines, railways and
leasing a North Korean port to a Chinese company.
Pyongyang has also been optimistic on forging economic pacts with China,
apparently hoping more investment will help enhance its underdeveloped heavy
industries sector.
Border trade in consumer items, from televisions to beer, has been booming
between the two countries since the 1990s, but industrial ties have been formed
only recently.
In October, the Chinese border city of Hunchun reached an agreement on a 50-year
lease with the nearby North Korean port of Rajin.
Rajin, an ice-free port with a handling capacity of 3 million tons a year, will
give China access to the East Sea between Korea, Japan, China, and Russia to
inland areas of northeast China which, at present, must send freight long
distances by rail to the port of Dalian on the Bohai Gulf in northeastern China.
The agreement also provides for the construction of an industrial zone measuring
5-10 square km, and a 67km highway.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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