Seoul mayor says hopes for close cooperation with Russia, North Korea

MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. Mayor of Seoul Park Won Soon said on Tuesday he hopes for closer cooperation in the trilateral format involving Russia, South and North Koreas under the new South Korean government. "South Korea has the so-called northern policy which is aimed at diversification of relations with its northern neighbors," he said in an interview with TASS. "We have some points of contact. For instance, we can resume the Khasan-Rajin railway project, we can look at a possibility of establishing an industrial zone in North Korea, like the Kaesong Industrial Complex." The Seoul mayor expressed the hope that once railway lines are joined, "it will be possible to travel to Moscow via Vladivostok and Irkutsk." "And Moscow will have a Seoul Railway Terminal," he added jokingly. Such trilateral cooperation is in the interests of all sides, he stressed. "The key advantage is the fact that Russia can offer natural resources, South Korea may offer technologies and capital, and North Korea may offer labor resources," said Park Won Soon. "Each side will benefit from this cooperation and we will be able to form a sustainable economic community. Previously, such plans could not be implemented but now South Korea has a new government which understands the necessity of expanding cooperation, and we are confident that cooperation with Russia will only expand." Moon Jae-in, 64, a former human rights lawyer and leader of the liberal Democratic Party, was elected South Korean president at the May 9 election, receiving 41.1% of the vote. He was immediately sworn in without any transition period. It was an early election, coming after Park Geun-hye was removed from power by impeachment. In late May, Moon Jae-in’s special envoy visited Moscow to discuss prospects for closer cooperation between the two countries with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Read more