N. Korea calls off test runs on cross-border railways

The cancellation may be attributed to Seoul's refusal to Pyongyang's request to redraw the sea border

Seoul, May 24 (Yonhap News) -- North Korea on Wednesday called off scheduled test runs of cross-border railways, an official at the Unification Ministry said.

The cancellation came one day before the Koreas were set to test the railways.

The South Korean government expressed deep regrets in a statement read by Vice Unification Minister Shin Un-sang during a press briefing.

Shin said the North's chief delegate to inter-Korean talks about linking the railways sent a telegram early Wednesday, saying it is calling off the test runs on the eastern and western lines.

"The North Korean side said in a telegram that it is no longer able to conduct the railway tests as scheduled because of the lack of a military agreement to guarantee the safety (of people taking part) in the trial runs and unstable conditions in the South," Shin told the news briefing.

The North's delegation to the railway talks is headed by Park Jong-song, director of an external relations bureau at the country's Railway Ministry, according to the Unification Ministry.

In the statement, the Seoul government criticized the last-minute cancellation, labeling the North's cited reasons as absurd, or preposterous. "Speaking preposterously about unstable conditions in the South is especially unreasonable."

Vice Minister Shin claimed it was a temporary delay until the countries' militaries reach an agreement on the safety of people taking part in trial runs on the railway lines.

Seoul has unsuccessfully tried to win direct approval from the North's military for the trial runs.

A North Korean delegation to the latest round of inter-Korean military talks on the South Korean side of the demilitarized zone last week returned home without signing a sought-after agreement on measures to guarantee the safety of passengers using the cross-border train services when they resume.

The North Korean delegates had also refused to sign an agreement on the safety of people taking part in the historic test runs.

Still, the last-minute cancellation caught Seoul off guard as its agreement with Pyongyang to test the lines was believed to include consent, if not approval, from the communist state's military.

"In the Tuesday telegram, North Korea called for discussions on redrawing the sea border in the West Sea in response to our telegram asking for any form of agreement regarding the railway operation," a Defense Ministry source said, asking to remain anonymous.

North Korea's military insists that a new sea border should be drawn further south away from its coast if there is any progress in talks involving both military authorities. But South Korea wants to discuss the sea border issue at a new round of inter-Korean defense chiefs' talks.

The western sea border was not clearly marked when the 1950-53 Korean War ended. The U.S.-led U.N. Command delineated a de facto border, the Northern Limit Line, in the area, but the North has never recognized it.

In 1999 and again in 2002, the navies of the two Koreas fought bloody gun battles in the area that resulted in heavy casualties on both sides. Both clashes occurred in June, the peak of the blue crab season, which usually starts in March.

The Koreas agreed to conduct test-runs on both railways, one connecting Seoul to the North Korean capital Pyongyang and the other linking the countries' eastern provinces of Gangwon, at the end of two-day talks on May 13.

A ministry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, had previously claimed the May 13 agreement showed that the North's military was finally giving in to the economic needs of its impoverished state.

"What is important is that the North's military seems to have no choice but to follow (the government's position) in the process, although it is still showing a lukewarm attitude," the official said Tuesday.

The communist state has depended on international handouts, mainly from the South, to feed a large number of its 23 million population since the mid-1990s.

The Seoul-Pyongyang line was reconnected late last year for the first time in over 55 years, after it was severed during the 1950-53 Korean War. Construction for the new eastern line was also completed before the end of last year.

Seoul had expected that the scheduled tests of the railways would take place without any disruptions as it believed the May 13 agreement with Pyongyang could override any opposition from the communist state's military.

According to the Korean Armistice Treaty, any entry or exit to and from the reclusive North must receive prior approval from the North's military.

The Koreas remain divided along a heavily-fortified border since the end of the Korean War, with more than 1.8 million troops from both sides still confronting each other.