South Korea's railway operator has proposed a trilateral cargo train project involving North Korea and China. 

The Korea Railroad Corporation(KORAIL) floated the idea Friday at a forum in Shenyang, China, on economic cooperation between South Korea and three northeastern Chinese provinces.

The company said the two Koreas and China should pursue a pilot project together in which mineral water from China's Jilin Province is transferred in container trains to Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province in South Korea via the North Korean cities of Sinuiju and Pyongyang. 

The length of railway for the project would span a total of one-thousand-129 kilometers, shorter than half of the distance if the cargo was transported by sea. 

KORAIL estimates its plan will halve shipping time to seven days and cut logistical costs by 20 percent. 

The Chinese participants at the forum also emphasized the necessity of connecting the two Koreas and China by railway.