S. Korea mulls undersea pipeline to import Russian gas

By Lee Joon-seung

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is considering laying an undersea pipeline to import natural gas from Russia if North Korea objects to an overland connection on its soil, the head of Seoul's state-run gas company said Wednesday.

In September, Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) announced it will import 7.5 million tons of
natural gas from Russia beginning in 2015, which will be sent to South Korea via
a pipeline system running through North Korea.
"The plan to build an underwater pipeline came up during talks with Gazprom
president Alexei Miller and experts at Russia's Pacific Ocean Institute in
Vladivostok last week," Choo Kang-soo said.
Russian gas company executives hinted that the North Korean officials they met
with recently shied away from the issue, the KOGAS president said.
Inter-Korean relations have been strained since the conservative Lee Myung-bak
government took office in February. The situation has worsened recently, with
North Korea announcing on Monday it will suspend tours to the ancient city of
Kaesong and further restrict border crossings effective Dec. 1.
Choo said Russian experts proposed laying an undersea pipeline linking
Vladivostok with either Samcheok on South Korea's east coast or Busan, South
Korea's largest port about 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
"The depth of the area where pipeline could cross is around 3,000 meters, and
while it may cost more to lay the pipeline in such adverse conditions it is not
technically impossible," he said.
Choo added that Russian engineers have conducted initial underwater surveys of
the pipeline's possible route in the past, which could facilitate construction.
He, however, said that there is no reason to be overly pessimistic about the
North Korean pipeline plan since the communist country also needs energy
resources.