Seoul proposes joint fishing zone, N. Korean port modernization

SEJONG, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's oceans minister said Thursday the two Koreas will look into ways of creating a joint fishing zone near the western sea border and overhaul old North Korean ports as the first step in cooperation in the fisheries and maritime sector. Kim Young-choon, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, said he discussed inter-Korean projects with North Korean officials during his recent visit to Pyongyang when he accompanied President Moon Jae-in to his third summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. At the summit last week, the leaders of the two Koreas agreed to set up a joint fishing zone near the tensely guarded sea border, between South Korea's Baengnyeong Island and Jangsan Cape, a North Korean naval base. Just 17 kilometers separates the two areas. "Among fisheries cooperation projects, the joint fishing zone may not be on the list of U.N. sanctions," Kim said in a meeting with reporters. "If fishermen of the two Koreas catch fish in each other's zone under the give-and-take framework, it may not be subject to economic sanctions. I think the Seoul government could ask the U.N. Security Council sanctions committee to review this matter." While most of the proposed cross-border projects can't take off under the U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang, Kim said the South and the North can jointly conduct feasibility studies in regards to the joint fishing zones in the western sea and tourism zones along the eastern coast. "(South Korean) fishermen wanted to set up a joint fishing zone around Yeonpyeong Island as well, but we set the boundary in waters near Baengnyeong Island as the first step, as the militaries of the two sides haven't reached a full agreement," Kim said. "If the pilot project begins, it would make it easier to create a second and a third joint fishing zone down the road." The minister also proposed modernizing old North Korean ports on the western coast to pave the way for combining them with other logistics projects and creating special economic zones. "I heard that (North Korea) is putting priority on the development of the ports of Nampo and Haeju. (Our two nations) could jointly conduct feasibility studies on such a project," Kim said Nampo is 60 kilometers west of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and Haeju is about 100 kilometers west of Kaesong, an industrial complex near the inter-Korean border that has been shut down since early 2016. In regards to developing special tourism zones on the eastern coast, Kim said his ministry will consult with the unification, defense and tourism ministries to craft detailed plans, describing the project as "drawing a picture on a blank piece of paper." Mount Kumkang is located just north of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas and Mount Seorak sits south of the heavily guarded eastern border. Mount Paekdu, which the leaders of the two countries visited on the last day of their meeting, is located on North Korea's northern border with China. ejkim@yna.co.kr (END)