Russia, S. Korea Pledge Greater Cooperation

SEOUL —  The presidents of Russia and South Korea promised Tuesday to forge deeper ties, including plans to build a landmark railway link through North Korea that both leaders said could help bring peace to the divided Korean peninsula.

Russian leader Vladimir V. Putin came to Seoul bearing Moscow’s pledge of support for President Kim Dae Jung’s efforts to thaw ties with the North.

And he won Kim’s backing for a key arms control treaty that the new U.S. administration of President Bush wants to see fundamentally altered or scrapped to enable Washington to build a national missile defense shield.

Russia says the thaw on the Korean peninsula undermines Washington’s justification for building the missile shield.

The proposal to link South Korea to Russia’s Trans-Siberian Railway took center stage at the talks.

Both sides touted not only the economic benefits--it would sharply reduce costs and delivery times for South Korean exports to Europe--but also the political payoff.

“Once the Korean railway is linked to the Siberian railway, Russia, North Korea and South Korea would stand at the center of an ‘iron silk road’ linking the three countries to the Asia-Pacific and Eurasian regions,” Kim told a joint news conference.