Russian ministry invites N. Korea to broaden range of cargo handled in Rajin port to increase transportation by Khasan-Rajin rail line

MOSCOW. June 27 (Interfax) - The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has proposed that North Korea increase transportation by the Khasan-Rajin rail line by broadening the range of cargo handled in the Rajin port, Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Co-Chair of the Russian-North Korean Intergovernmental Commission Alexander Kozlov said.

"I believe it's important to take efforts towards reanimating the Khasan-Rajin joint strategic project. I suggest that we consider the possible use of the Rajin port for handling both coal and other cargo," Kozlov said at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission co-chairs on Tuesday.

Renovation of the Khasan-Rajin rail line began in October 2008, when the first link of the rail-sleeper lattice was laid at the Tumangang station in North Korea. The Tumangang-Rajin line was commissioned in September 2013. The commissioning of a new transshipment terminal in the Rajin port and the start of cargo transportation through the border checkpoint of Khasan (Russia) and Tumangang (North Korea) was reported in July 2014.

Initially, it was planned to build a container terminal in the Rajin port for handling 100,000 TEU per year, however, a changed situation on the cargo transportation market and the structure of cargo transportation prompted a joint decision to build infrastructure for bulk cargo, as well.