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South Korean President Park Geun-hye vowed on Monday to build up foundations for peaceful reunification with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) within her five-year presidency.
"I'll make all-out efforts to make sure that foundations for peaceful reunification will be set up within my tenure and North Korea (DPRK) can be changed into a responsible member of the international community," Park said in her first address to lawmakers at the headquarters of the National Assembly since she took office in February.
Park said the peaceful reunification on the Korean Peninsula is a path that the two Koreas must go though it may look murky and far away until now, noting that Seoul will continue to push for the Korean Peninsula trust-building process based on firm principles and patience.
If trust on issues, including the DPRK's nuclear program, is built between Seoul and Pyongyang, a wider range of economic cooperation will be made possible among the two Koreas, Park said.
The South Korean president cited the Silk Road Express (SRX), a logistics network proposed by Park to link roads and railways from South Korea to Europe through the DPRK, China, Central Asia and Russia. She noted that it will help open the door for the peaceful reunification.
During the summit held in Seoul last week, Park and Russian President Vladimir Putin shared views on the idea of more unified Eurasia via logistic cooperation, signing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) to allow three South Korean companies to participate in the Rajin-Khasan rail track project.
The 54-km Rajin-Khasan railway, which links the DPRK's northeastern port city of Rajin to its nearby Russian town Khasan, was reopened in September. It re-connected the port to Russia's Trans Siberian Railway (TSR), making it possible for South Korean exporters to transport goods first by sea and move them by railway to as far as Europe.
Joining the project by the three South Korean companies would pave the way for expansion in Seoul's investment into Pyongyang.
