South and North Korea said on Friday they had agreed to start work simultaneously on relinking railways and roads severed for five decades through their fortified border.
Two Koreas, split for 50 years, held three days of talks to agree a timetable for the work in the Demilitarised Zone, a project with symbolic and economic significance.
The North Korean delegation chief, Pak Chang-ryon, told reporters the two sides had agreed to ask their respective military authorities to ensure work could start next month.
For work to start, the Koreas need to hold military talks, a vital step to ensure transport links can be built safely through the Demilitarised Zone that divides the peninsula and is packed with mines and covered with razorwire.
It was not immediately clear what other agreements, beyond food aid to the North, had been reached in the 10-point statement which reporters watched the two delegations sign and exchange.
(China Daily August 30, 2002)
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