From the KOIS
The following is the full text of a 10-point agreement issued by South and North Korea at the end of their five-day economic cooperation meeting in Pyongyang on Sunday.
South and North Korea held the 13th meeting of the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee in Pyongyang on April 18-22, 2007.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the issues and agreed on the following to advance the inter-Korean economic cooperation project in ways befitting the prosperity and the interest of the Korean people.
1. South and North Korea agree to take measures needed for investment and cooperation so as to develop the Korean people’s economy in a balanced way and expand and develop inter-Korean economic cooperation.
2. South and North Korea agree to conduct test runs of the Gyeongui (Seoul-Sinuiju) and Donghae (East Coast) railway lines on May 17, hold relevant working-level negotiations in Gaeseong on April 27-28 and make efforts to realize the operations of the railways and roads at the earliest possible date.
Both sides agree to make positive efforts to actualize a military safety guarantee prior to the test runs of the railways.3. South and North Korea agree to adopt a revised and complemented accord on South-North Cooperation in Light Industry and Natural Resource Development which had already been adopted at the 12th inter-Korean economic cooperation meeting.
In this regard, the South will provide raw materials for light industry to the North starting from June in return for future payment, and the North will cooperate in allowing the South to make an onsite visit to the envisioned development sites as well as obtain necessary documents.
To that end, the two sides will hold working-level talks in Gaeseong on May 2-4 to consult, discuss and determine concrete matters.
4. South and North Korea will hold working-level talks sometime in May to discuss ways of facilitating customs, telecommunication, supply of North Korean labor, accommodations, convenience facilities and further development of the Gaeseong industrial complex.
5. South and North Korea will hold working-level talks in Gaeseong sometime in June to discuss their advance into third countries in the field of natural resource development.
6. South and North Korea agree to reach an agreement on the prevention of flooding in shared areas near the Imjin River and implement it in the form of exchanging a document in early May.
In this regard, the North agrees to cooperate in allowing South Koreans to make on-site visits and providing technical support needed for the supply of facilities and raw materials.
7. South and North Korea agree to hold working-level talks at the earliest possible time in order to implement a project to extract sand from the Han River’s estuary as military safety measures are taken.
8. South and North Korea agree to hold a working-level meeting in Gaeseong sometime in June for the prevention of natural disasters and science and technology cooperation, and they will determine the schedules for fishery cooperation, a business arbitration committee and a joint committee for immigration and stays in Gaeseong and Mt. Geumgangsan in the form of exchanging documents.
9. The South agrees to provide 400,000 tons of rice to the North in the form of a loan on brotherly and humanitarian grounds.
10. The 14th meeting of the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee will be held in the South in July 2007 and the date will be determined after consultation in the form of exchanging documents.