Official says Russia–S. Korea railway link can cost over $4 bln

MOSCOW, Jul 18 (PRIME) -- Investment in a rail link between the Russian Trans-Siberian railway and the Trans-Korean railway can exceed U.S. $4 billion significantly, Russia’s ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora told PRIME in an interview released on Wednesday.

“I think that a much larger investment will be needed, not only by North but by South Korea as well,” Matsegora said, commenting on an earlier $3–4 billion estimate by Russian Railways CEO Oleg Belozyorov.

Matsegora said that the first meeting between representatives of Russia, North and South Korea on a joint railway project Khasan–Rajin can be held in early August.

“Maybe, a trilateral meeting will be held for the first time at the beginning of August but this is a preliminary agreement yet,” Matsegora said.

Russia is ready to participate in modernization of the North Korean electric power system when sanctions against North Korea are removed and Pyongyang finds financing, Matsegora said.

He said that Russia has not violated the requirements of the U.N. Security Council and ships only 200–400 tonnes of oil products to North Korea per month.

The official also said that Minister of External Economic Relations of North Korea Kim Yong-jae was invited to participate in Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum on September 6–7.

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