Nuclear impasse clouds future of inter-Korean rail link

US intervention suspected in UN Command's rejection of survey plans

A soldier walks at Imjingang Station near the demilitarized zone on the Gyeongui Line, which the two Koreas are trying to link. The United Nations Command denied permission to send a test train from Seoul through the border.

SOTARO SUZUKI, Nikkei staff writer

August 31, 2018 07:24 JST

SEOUL -- The U.S.-North Korea standoff over Pyongyang's denuclearization is casting a shadow over South Korean President Moon Jae-in's ambitious cross-border rail project as a frustrated Washington is suspected of trying to impede progress.

The United Nations Command said Thursday it denied Seoul permission to enter North Korea for a joint field study related to a rail link project, affirming reports by The Hankyoreh newspaper.