OREANDA-NEWS. August 13, 2008. In Pyongyang, a 49-year contract was signed for the lease of rail infrastructure on the stretch between Tumangan - Rajin and an agreement concluded to start building work on the reconstruction of railways and the construction of a container terminal at the port of Rajin, reported the press-centre of Russian Railways.

This followed talks on August 5-6 in Pyongyang between Russian Railways, the Russian-Korean joint venture RasonKonTrans and the Railway Transport Company Tonhe from North Korea’s Ministry of Railways.

The parties agreed to organise a ceremony on the commencement of work on the reconstruction of the railway line between Tumangan - Rajin and the construction of the Rajin terminal before the end of 2008.

It was also agreed to explore the possibility of reconstructing the railway line in North Korea between Rajin and Namyan on the border with China in order to organise the transit of freight with China. The parties consider this area to be very promising and it could become the next phase in the implementation of the Khassan - Rajin project.

As a result of the negotiations, a Board of Directors of the joint venture RasonKonTrans was formed and held its first meeting, during which senior officials were elected to the Board Council and topical issues agreed related to the organisation and management of the joint venture.