Seoul, South Korea – It was New Year’s Eve in 1950. Koreans were fleeing the Chinese advance in the North when American soldiers halted their train at the South Korean border – shooting bullets into its steam tank to prevent it from ever running again.
That ill-fated train was the last to try to cross the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula, which has remained in a state of conflict since the 1953 cease-fire that ended the Korean War.
Today, two trains crossed the border again in a highly symbolic test run seen as another step toward healing the wounds between the North and South.
“It is not simply a test run. It means reconnecting the severed bloodline of our people. It means that the heart of the Korean peninsula is beating again,” Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said at a ceremony at Munsan station, 7 miles south of the Demilitarized Zone, before boarding the northbound train.
The two Koreas “should not be derailed from the track or hesitate” in their moves toward unification, North Korean Senior Cabinet Councilor Kwon Ho Ung said.
Volleys of colored fireworks burst in the sky above the northbound train as it moved into position in front of a red-carpeted platform for passengers to board, cheered on by a crowd of hundreds waving small paper flags depicting a unified Korean peninsula in blue.
With 150 people aboard, the two five-car trains – one departing from the North and another from the South – left their stations. Both trains will return later today after spending a few hours on the opposite side.
The train test is the latest hole punched through the DMZ since the two Koreas embarked on an unprecedented reconciliation with their first summit in June 2000. Roads also have been restored since 2005, and thousands of South Koreans cross annually to visit Diamond Mountain as tourists or to work in the joint Korean industrial zone in Kaesong.
For South Korea, restoration of rail travel would help end its virtual island status, given that the only land route out is through North Korea. A rail link could reduce delivery costs for its export-driven economy.
Seoul wants to connect to Russia’s Trans-Siberian Railroad. That will be difficult, but the opening of rail service on the two short routes just across the border could be possible.
