Cheorwon-gun in Gangwon Province said Monday it attended the "Border Region Peace and Safety Joint Conference" at the Ministry of Unification, where participants discussed ways to maintain peace and boost the economy in border areas.
The meeting brought together Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young, Gangwon Province Governor Woo Sang-ho, Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae, Cheorwon-gun head Kim Dong-il and other local government chiefs from the Border Region Mayors and County Heads Council, along with the vice minister of national defense and the director general of the Ministry of Interior and Safety's disaster and safety management bureau.
Chaired by Minister Jeong, the conference reviewed key achievements since the first session in February, with participants pledging continued cooperation with local governments to sustain peace in border regions. They also shared plans for the peaceful use of the Demilitarized Zone and projects aimed at giving residents a tangible sense of peace.
Kim urged the central government to ease military facility regulations in areas that have lost their value as protected zones due to urban and industrial complex development, and to promptly resume the suspended project to restore the southern section of the Gyeongwon Line. "I will do my utmost at the local government level to provide more practical benefits to residents of border areas," he said, adding that the railway restoration carries symbolic weight for peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula beyond simply expanding the transportation network.
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