Koreas' DMZ opens up symbolically

The Korea Herald, Asia News Network, Seoul

The two Koreas will take another stride toward reconciliation and cooperation tomorrow by resuming work to reconnect their severed roads and railways. On Thursday, each side will begin to clear mines along the two transportation corridors through the border area, breaking open the Demilitarized Zone, which has remained a no man's land for half a century. According to agreements last week, a hot line will also link the military authorities of the two sides. It was a small but symbolic opening toward mutual military confidence.

A most sarcastic misnomer, the 4 kilometer-wide, 153km-long DMZ is actually the world's most-heavily fortified border strewn with a million mines. Littered with military conflicts, large or small, it has also been a reminder of the possible recurrence of bloody, fratricidal war. It is rather ironic that the last symbol of Cold War would serve as the vital point for reconnecting the divided Korean Peninsula at its waist. This is all the more important as the two sides dare to expose their respective weakest security points to each other.

A railway linking Seoul and Sinuiju in North Korea and a parallel road will be completed by the end of this year and next, respectively. Another set of roads and railways running along the peninsula's eastern coast will also be built by 2003. Each will then be linked to Asian and European continents via China and Russia, opening an era for Korea to serve as a regional transportation hub. So, there must be no stoppage of the work either for military accidents or political currents, domestic or international.

The Korean Peninsula is now in the vortex of rapid political change, as shown by the visit to Pyongyang by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi today. The United States is also sending a message to restart dialog with the North through the Japanese leader. Nor do Russia and China want to be left behind in the regional diplomatic contest.

But it should be the two Koreas that play leading roles. It is against this backdrop that these latest developments carry extraordinary significance, and the remaining work should be completed by all means.