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Korean train link derailed by nuke dispute
From Rebecca MacKinnon
DORASAN, South Korea (CNN) -- As part of its so-called 'sunshine policy' of engaging North Korea, officials from South Korea will sit down with their counterparts from the communist state this week in Seoul. In the ninth round of inter-Korean talks, officials are expected to discuss plans for trade and transportation links between the two nations. But as tensions over North Korea's nuclear program drag on unresolved, the dreams of many South Koreans of traveling to the North remain unrealized. South Korean crews are almost finished extending their side of a railway line through the heavily guarded demilitarized zone, and North Korean workers building their portion can be seen digging in the distance. The railway link was supposed to have been connected to North Korea by the end of last year. There is also a plan for a $50-billion industrial park for South Korean-invested factories just over on the Northern side. But all plans have been held up by the nuclear issue and a dispute over who controls security on the border crossing. Last month North Korean soldiers were photographed with machine guns in their part of the construction area, which the U.N. command complained violated the rules of the demilitarized zone. (Full story) But North Korea argued that the transportation corridors were not part of the demilitarized zone, and it was none of the U.N. command's business. South Korean woesSome South Korean business leaders such as Kim Yoon-kyu, President and CEO of Hyundai also accuse the U.S.-led U.N. command of holding up South Korea's 'sunshine' policy. "For 50 years we were separated," he says. "Finally we are ready to go through this land from South to North and then North to South. This is meaningful. But I don't know why we have to wait." The U.S. forces officers say they think North Korea wants to undermine the demilitarized zone. They warn that could weaken South Korea's security. But many South Koreans are beginning to blame the U.S. for holding back the process of Korean reconciliation. "The danger with regard to the U.N. command issues as they now stand is that they enhance the perception that the United States may be an obstacle to the process of inter-Korean reconciliation," says Scott Snyder of the Asia Foundation. Many South Koreans have relatives in the North and dream of the day when, after five decades of division, they will finally be able to reunite their family. For now though there is no choice but to turn back at the border and keep waiting.
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