ROK, DPRK agree to conduct joint study to connect, modernize road over border

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed on Thursday to conduct a joint study to connect and modernize their roads over the border, South Korea's unification ministry said.

The agreement came after working-level talks between the two sides were held at the border village of Panmunjom. After the talks, a joint statement was announced.

Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to form a joint study and an investigation team to connect and modernize roads between the two Koreas along the eastern and western corridors.

The on-spot joint investigation will be launched in early August in the western region before investigating the east side.

Following the investigations, the two sides would modernize the DPRK roads by jointly designing and constructing them. The construction would be launched after necessary preparations are made.

The ROK and the DPRK agreed first to launch a joint study on the DPRK road situations as inter-Korean economic cooperation is hard to kick off immediately under UN Security Council sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs.

The joint statement said the working-level dialogue on inter-Korean road cooperation was held to implement the Panmunjom Declaration, which ROK President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un signed after their first summit meeting on April 27 in Panmunjom.