South and North Korea will hold a meeting on Friday to discuss connecting the skies in follow-up talks to modernize road and rail conditions in the North for land connection as agreed during the summit of South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un earlier this year.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said on Wednesday that the two Koreas will hold a working-level meeting on Friday at the joint liaison office in Kaesong to discuss aviation-related issues. The meeting will be attended by five working-level officials from each side including those from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport in South Korea.

Industry insiders noted that North Korea proposed the meeting first to discuss possible cooperation in the aviation sector. Agendas for discussion have not been predetermined but the meeting will allow the two Koreas to share issues of mutual concern and review cooperation measures, the unification said.

An unnamed official from the unification ministry said that it plans to first discuss issues of mutual concern with regards to cooperation in the aviation sector and talk over areas allowing cooperation at this stage.

Cooperation in the aviation sector was not officially part of the agenda during the two inter-Korean summits. Under the previously agreed 2007 October 4 Declaration, South and North Korea agreed to launch tours to Mount Baekdu in North Korea and open a direct air route between Seoul and Mount Baekdu. The two Koreas pushed to launch construction to renovate Samjiyon airport near Mount Baekdu but plans fell through under the new administration.

The two Koreas are projected to discuss the agenda of opening a direct air route at the meeting on Friday. They could also talk about renovating North Korea’s old airport facility including Samjiyon airport.

The unification ministry expected the opening of the direct route between the two Koreas itself will be within the frame of sanctions but it will not allow South Korean carriers to pay fee for using North Korean airspace, which is estimated to be about 800,000 won ($703.7) per use.

Flying through North Korean air space would allow reduced flight distance, about 200 kilometers to 500 kilometers for Incheon-American route. The South Korean government banned national carriers using North Korean air space following the 2010 torpedoing of South Korean warship Cheonan.

By Kim Sung-hoon and Lee Eun-joo

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