SEOUL-- President Moon Jae-in said Thursday he hopes to see progress on expanding joint railway and other projects between South Korea and its northern neighbors.

Moon made the remark in a video message for the opening of the 3rd International Forum for Northern Economic Cooperation, touching on one of his key policy initiatives.

"I hope to see greater achievements in cooperation between South Korea and Northern countries and a vision to jointly open a sustainable future through Arctic shipping routes, an East Asian railway bloc and anti-epidemic and health cooperation in Northeast Asia," the president said.

Connecting railways across East Asia is an element of the Korean Peninsula Peace Process initiative Moon unveiled in 2018.

The project would connect railways between South and North Korea, China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia.

Moon said South Korea has shared its antivirus experiences with its northern neighbors and worked together in an effort to jointly overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

He pledged to contribute to growing the countries' future growth engines by investing in them and strengthening cooperation in health, digital technologies and the environment.

Moon also said Seoul will more than double its health-related official development assistance for the northern countries this year compared to last year and help their responses to the climate crisis.

"As a part of Eurasia, South Korea will always walk on the Northern countries' path to peace and prosperity," Moon said.

The annual forum is hosted by the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation.

In a congratulatory message to the event, Unification Minister Lee In-young said South Korea will seek to normalize a long-suspended inter-Korean tourism project to the North's Mount Kumgang when the COVID-19 situation improves.

"Twenty-three years ago today, the historic Mount Kumgang tourism project, a representative inter-Korean cooperative business, got under way," Lee said. "As soon as the circumstances are met, we will have serious consultations with the North on creating a joint special tourism zone on the east coast."

The Mount Kumgang tour program was regarded as a key symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation until it was suspended in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot to death by a North Korean guard.

Source: Yonhap News Agency