Seoul: South Korea will resume tourist rail service to and from its northernmost Dorasan Station this week, a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation that once connected the two Koreas, the unification ministry announced Thursday. Passenger rail service linking Seoul Station with Dorasan Station, the northern endpoint of South Korea's rail network just south of the inter-Korean border, will resume Friday, the ministry said.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the station was established after South and North Korean leaders agreed to connect their railways at a 2000 summit during a period of reconciliation between the two Koreas. Freight trains once ran through Dorasan Station between the two Koreas, transporting materials and finished goods to and from the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a factory park in North Korea jointly operated by the two Koreas that was shut down amid inter-Korean tensions in 2016.

Since then, the station served as a destination for a tourist rail service before closing completely in late 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The resumption of rail service to the station will allow tourists to travel by train beyond the Civilian Control Line, which restricts public access near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the ministry stated.

Going forward, the government, municipalities, and the rail agency plan to add more tourist destinations near the border station to provide programs aimed at promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula. The government emphasized that the reopening of Dorasan Station is part of its efforts to foster peaceful coexistence of the two Koreas and promote the peaceful use of the DMZ area.