A convoy of 15 South Korean dump trucks rumbled across the heavily fortified border yesterday, returning home with North Korean sand in a symbolic trip that raised hopes for breaching a Cold War frontier for the sake of trade.
North Korea has been extremely reluctant to open its land border with South Korea. The Koreas remain divided following the 1950-'53 Korean War, which ended in a ceasefire, not a peace treaty. Their border is guarded by barbed wires, battle-ready military units and mine fields.
Yesterday's truckloads were yet another sign of North Korea's willingness to open its border with South Korea for commercial profit. South Korean tourists are already crossing the eastern border to visit the North's scenic Diamond Mountain.
PHOTO: REUTERS
South Korea, suffering a shortage of construction materials, has imported over 33,000 tonnes of North Korean sand since 2002. But until yesterday, all the raw material shipments from North Korea came through China or by ship.
After a historic 2000 inter-Korean summit, South Korea began sanctioning trade with North Korea, which badly need trade and investment from the outside to help rebuild its shattered economy.
Last month, North Korea allowed South Korean trucks to cross the border to deliver relief goods for the victims of a deadly train explosion in the impoverished north.
Yesterday's trucks were hired by a South Korean construction company that has recently signed a deal to import 1,000 tonnes of sand from a North Korean river near the border. The cross-border transport will continue through tomorrow. No further details of the deal were immediately available.
Following the 2000 summit, inter-Korean trade picked up the pace. The south's imports totaled US$61.59 million in the first three months of this year.
Shipments to the north amounted to US$42.7 million.
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