S. Korea, China agree to launch shuttle flights

SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and China have agreed to launch shuttle flights between their capitals, possibly starting later this year, Seoul government officials said Sunday.

The agreement, reached last week, will allow shuttle flights to link Seoul's
Gimpo Airport and Beijing's Capital International Airport, said the officials at
the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
South Korea has a similar aviation pact with Japan that went into effect in 2003,
linking Seoul's Gimpo and Tokyo's Haneda Airport.
Details of the South Korea-China agreement will be worked out later this year,
the South Korean officials said, adding that the shuttle services, if launched,
would cut traveling time considerably.
Gimpo, located in the outskirts of Seoul, is much closer to and from Seoul, the
capital, than Incheon International Airport. Shuttle flights between Gimpo and
Haneda, which is also closer to downtown Tokyo than Narita International Airport,
have been well received by travelers.
South Korean officials, meanwhile, said weekly flights are to start between
Incheon and two Chinese regional cities to handle growing numbers of air
travelers between the two countries.
They said three flights per week will be operated between Incheon and Mudanjiang
in China's northeastern region, with seven flights being launched for Huangshan,
a favorite tourist destination in southern China.