Korean gas pipeline makes economic, political sense - ministry
MOSCOW. Aug 25 (Interfax) - A gas pipeline from Vladivostok to North Korea and onwards to South Korea would make sense from a political as well as economic point of view, Deputy Russian Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky told reporters.
Russia and South Korea signed a pipeline gas supply agreement back in 2006. "Three routes were analyzed in connection with this: via China, via North Korea and along the seabed. Calculations showed that a marine pipeline would have been a fairly costly path, and that the shortest route would be via North Korea," Yanovsky said.
The route should also help improve relations between the Koreas. "I think that any infrastructure project that links North and South Korea, be it a railway, gas pipeline or power transmission line, would be not only of economic benefit but would also work to normalize relations between these two countries," he said.
Yanovsky did not say how the security of Russian transit gas might be guaranteed, but he did say that an agreement on the operation of the pipeline might be signed with North Korea if the project is implemented. "If the project is carried out, then, accordingly, there would be an agreement with North Korea regarding the pipeline's operation and security," Yanovsky said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il agreed during their meeting this week to set up an ad hoc commission to define the parameters of gas cooperation between Russia and the two Koreas. The pipeline would be able to carry 10 bcm of gas per year but its capacity could be increased if needed. It would be 1,100 km long and 700 km of it would pass through North Korea.
South Korea's gas consumption has grown 9% a year in the past 10 years, reaching 44 bcm in 2010. South Korea imports all the gas it consumes in the form of LNG. South Korea accounts for 15% of the global trade in LNG, second only to Japan.