S. Korea set to resume tourist rail service to northernmost Dorasan station near N. Korea

▲ A deputy stationmaster at Dorasan Station stands beside the station signpost in this file photo taken June 29, 2024, facing the northbound railway that runs through the Demilitarized Zone into North Korea. (Yonhap)

border rail station-reopening

S. Korea set to resume tourist rail service to northernmost Dorasan station near N. Korea

SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will resume tourist rail service to and from its northernmost Dorasan Station this week, a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation that once connected the two Koreas, the unification ministry said Thursday.

Passenger rail service linking Seoul Station with Dorasan Station, the northern endpoint of South Korea's rail network just south of the inter-Korean border, will resume Friday, the unification ministry said.

The station was established after the then South and North Korean leaders agreed to connect their railways at a 2000 summit held amid a period of reconciliation between the two Koreas.

Freight trains once ran through the Dorasan station between the two Koreas, carrying materials and finished goods to and from the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a factory park in North Korea jointly operated by the two Koreas that was shut down amid inter-Korean tensions in 2016.

Since then, the station served as a destination for a tourist rail service before closing completely in late 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The resumption of rail service to the station will allow tourists to travel by train beyond the Civilian Control Line, which restricts public access near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the ministry said.

Going forward, the government, municipalities and the rail agency plan to add more tourist destinations near the border station to provide various programs aimed at promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The government said the reopening of Dorasan Station is part of its efforts to foster the peaceful coexistence of the two Koreas on the Korean Peninsula and promote the peaceful use of the DMZ area.

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