Russia’s energy giant Gazprom discussed on Thursday the construction of a pipeline to the Korean Peninsula with officials from North and South Korea.
The gas pipeline, expected to run through North Korea, is intended to supply Russian natural gas to South Korea.
Gazprom and North Korea’s Ministry of Oil Industry signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday and agreed to set up a working group on the project, the Russian company said.
Gazprom also said it had signed a road map on the project on Thursday with South Korea’s gas pipeline operator Kogas.
The gas pipeline is expected to be over 1,100 km long, including 700 km to run across North Korea.
Russian natural gas deliveries to South Korea may start from 2017 and amount to at least 10 billion cubic meters a year. Gazprom currently supplies up to 1.5 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas a year to South Korea, which is the world’s second largest LNG buyer after Japan.