ID :
21948
Tue, 09/30/2008 - 15:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/21948
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea, Russia agree on gas pipeline project involving N. Korea
MOSCOW, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, agreed at a Kremlin summit Monday to accelerate two-way cooperation in energy, resources and industrial technologies, upgrading their bilateral relations from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership, Lee's aides said.
In the first tangible and unprecedented three-nation project, the two leaders
agreed to send Russian natural gas through a pipeline to South Korea via North
Korea starting in 2015.
Under the contract signed between Korea Gas Corp. and Russia's Gazprom, the
Russian side is to send at least 7.5 million tons of natural gas annually for a
period of 30 years through a long-distance pipeline running from Vladivostok in
the Russian Far East to South Korea through North Korea.
The volume of 7.5 million tons represents an estimated 20 percent of South
Korea's annual natural gas consumption.
"Korea Gas Corp. and Gazprom will soon start a joint study on the construction of
a Russian-South Korean natural gas pipeline that passes across North Korea," said
Lee's office in a press statement.
"South Korea and Russia will also seek various other tripartite economic
cooperation projects involving North Korea through the gas pipeline project,
providing fresh momentum for inter-Korean economic cooperation," said the
statement.
Following the Kremlin summit, meanwhile, South Korea and Russia issued a 10-point
joint statement calling for promoting strategic partnership across the board,
including politics, diplomacy, security, defense, energy and economy.
Both sides also agreed to regularly hold vice minister-level strategic talks to
boost exchanges in military and defense fields, in particular.
With the agreement, South Korea-Russia ties will be on par with Seoul's relations
with China. A strategic partnership calls for expanding the scope and depth of
exchanges in politics, military, foreign affairs, security and other sensitive
fields.
Lee, accompanied by first lady Kim Yoon-ok and 14 official and special delegates,
arrived in Moscow on Sunday for a three-day official visit, becoming the first
South Korean president to travel to Russia in his inaugural year. Lee and
Medvedev already met on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit in Japan in
July.
Following the summit, Lee and Medvedev observed their Cabinet ministers sign a
total of 13 MOUs calling for strategic partnership in the fields of energy,
resources, investment, industrial technology and information technology.
The MOUs covered joint exploration of petroleum, uranium and other natural
resources, construction of a Korea-only industrial complex near Moscow and
exchanges between science and technology institutions of both sides.
Specifically, South Korean and Russian ministries in charge of energy policy
agreed to hold regular meetings for strategic cooperation in the development of
Russian natural resources, while the Korea National Oil Corp. will conduct a
joint feasibility study on mines in the Russian Republic of Kalmykia.
In addition, a consortium of Korea Electric Power Corp., Korea Resources Corp.
and LG International will participate in uranium mine development projects to be
carried out by a subsidiary of the Russian entity AtomRed-MetZoloto, known as
ARMZ.
Seoul's Knowledge Economy Ministry signed an MOU with the Moscow State Government
on the creation of a Korea-only industrial park on the outskirts of the Russian
capital, which will house about 30 Korean plants in the initial phase.
Two-way trade between South Korea and Russia surged from US$4.18 billion in 2003
to $15.06 billion in 2007, representing annual average growth of 38 percent.
South Korea's investment in Russia as of June this year totaled $1.5 billion, or
1 percent of the aggregate foreign investment in Russia. The investment has been
rapidly growing in recent years, with a 3.6-fold increase reported last year.
Lee asked the Russian leaders to play a bigger role in promoting peace in
Northeast Asia, as well as in the shaky six-nation talks on disabling North
Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Russia's stance on North Korea draws strong interest, as the communist North is
now on the brink of restarting its nuclear weapons program shut down in July last
year under a landmark disarmament deal with South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia
and Japan.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
In the first tangible and unprecedented three-nation project, the two leaders
agreed to send Russian natural gas through a pipeline to South Korea via North
Korea starting in 2015.
Under the contract signed between Korea Gas Corp. and Russia's Gazprom, the
Russian side is to send at least 7.5 million tons of natural gas annually for a
period of 30 years through a long-distance pipeline running from Vladivostok in
the Russian Far East to South Korea through North Korea.
The volume of 7.5 million tons represents an estimated 20 percent of South
Korea's annual natural gas consumption.
"Korea Gas Corp. and Gazprom will soon start a joint study on the construction of
a Russian-South Korean natural gas pipeline that passes across North Korea," said
Lee's office in a press statement.
"South Korea and Russia will also seek various other tripartite economic
cooperation projects involving North Korea through the gas pipeline project,
providing fresh momentum for inter-Korean economic cooperation," said the
statement.
Following the Kremlin summit, meanwhile, South Korea and Russia issued a 10-point
joint statement calling for promoting strategic partnership across the board,
including politics, diplomacy, security, defense, energy and economy.
Both sides also agreed to regularly hold vice minister-level strategic talks to
boost exchanges in military and defense fields, in particular.
With the agreement, South Korea-Russia ties will be on par with Seoul's relations
with China. A strategic partnership calls for expanding the scope and depth of
exchanges in politics, military, foreign affairs, security and other sensitive
fields.
Lee, accompanied by first lady Kim Yoon-ok and 14 official and special delegates,
arrived in Moscow on Sunday for a three-day official visit, becoming the first
South Korean president to travel to Russia in his inaugural year. Lee and
Medvedev already met on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit in Japan in
July.
Following the summit, Lee and Medvedev observed their Cabinet ministers sign a
total of 13 MOUs calling for strategic partnership in the fields of energy,
resources, investment, industrial technology and information technology.
The MOUs covered joint exploration of petroleum, uranium and other natural
resources, construction of a Korea-only industrial complex near Moscow and
exchanges between science and technology institutions of both sides.
Specifically, South Korean and Russian ministries in charge of energy policy
agreed to hold regular meetings for strategic cooperation in the development of
Russian natural resources, while the Korea National Oil Corp. will conduct a
joint feasibility study on mines in the Russian Republic of Kalmykia.
In addition, a consortium of Korea Electric Power Corp., Korea Resources Corp.
and LG International will participate in uranium mine development projects to be
carried out by a subsidiary of the Russian entity AtomRed-MetZoloto, known as
ARMZ.
Seoul's Knowledge Economy Ministry signed an MOU with the Moscow State Government
on the creation of a Korea-only industrial park on the outskirts of the Russian
capital, which will house about 30 Korean plants in the initial phase.
Two-way trade between South Korea and Russia surged from US$4.18 billion in 2003
to $15.06 billion in 2007, representing annual average growth of 38 percent.
South Korea's investment in Russia as of June this year totaled $1.5 billion, or
1 percent of the aggregate foreign investment in Russia. The investment has been
rapidly growing in recent years, with a 3.6-fold increase reported last year.
Lee asked the Russian leaders to play a bigger role in promoting peace in
Northeast Asia, as well as in the shaky six-nation talks on disabling North
Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Russia's stance on North Korea draws strong interest, as the communist North is
now on the brink of restarting its nuclear weapons program shut down in July last
year under a landmark disarmament deal with South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia
and Japan.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
