MOSCOW, August 23 (Itar-Tass) —— Seoul and Pyongyang have not held direct consultations on the possible construction of a Russian-South Korean gas pipeline across the North Korean territory, a representative of the South Korean embassy in Moscow told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
“We know about Gazprom contacts with North Korea concerning this project, but Seoul and Pyongyang have not held such consultations so far,” he said.
He said the negotiations had just begun and the cost and deadlines of the project would be discussed in the case of tangible progress at the negotiations. The diplomat hopes that the project will have a favorable effect on the general situation in the region, implying the resumption of the six-nation negotiations with Pyongyang.
Gazprom said earlier that negotiations with South Korea continued but refused to specify the possible route of the gas pipeline. Gazprom and Kogas Korea Gas Corporation signed a memorandum in September 2008 for making a joint evaluation of the project. If the project comes true, South Korea may annually receive up to 7.5 million tonnes of Russian gas from 2015.