Seoul's Railway Revival: A Desperate Bid to Stay Relevant The recent announcements from Washington about scaling back joint military drills with South Korea have left Seoul feeling like a forgotten player in its own diplomatic game.
The government has chosen to revive the decades old railway project connecting the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) with the rest of the country, a move that is as much about salvaging face as it is about genuine attempts at reconciliation with North Korea.
The DMZ railway was first proposed in the 1990s but stalled due to disagreements between the two Koreas on key issues like ownership and operation.