Now to a breakthrough in the two Koreas' push to launch joint projects,... including the reconnection of railroads between the two sides.
The UN Security Council has heeded Seoul's request to allow a limited lifting of sanctions that cap petroleum and other materials from entering the North.
The move will enable the two Koreas to begin their rail inspections.
Oh Soo-young reports.
The United Nations Security Council has granted a sanctions exemption for South and North Korea, laying the groundwork for a joint railway survey.
Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday that negotiations with the Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee are now finalized after it approved a limited sanctions waiver for the purpose of conducting a railroad inspection.
UN sanctions currently enforce caps on North Korea's imports of refined petroleum, crude oil and other materials, over its nuclear weapons and missile programs.
That's why Seoul sought an exemption for materials required to examine to see how major rail lines in the North could be reconnected across the border.
In October, the two Koreas agreed to launch a survey by the end of that month,... and hold a groundbreaking ceremony before early December.
However, the sanctions issue left them with no choice but to postpone those plans.
Seoul has been pushing for the launch of inter-Korean projects, including cross-border railways,... which it believes will motivate the North Korean regime to commit to denuclearization.
South Korea's presidential office applauded the Security Council's decision, saying the international community's support marks a new stage for inter-Korean cooperation.
But for the two Koreas' railroad projects to move further down the track,... they will need additional lifting of sanctions, both from the UN Security Council and the United States,... which is likely to require the North to take stronger measures to denuclearize.
The U.S. has maintained that North Korea sanctions must remain until such steps are taken.
Responding to the sanctions waiver, a State Department spokesman said Washington and Seoul remain committed to "close coordination" on their "unified response to Pyeongyang," and the "final, fully verified denuclearization of the North."
The spokesman later added the U.S. is focused on ensuring the negotiations are successful.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.