Unification Minister Lee In-young on Friday met with Gangwon Province Governor Choi Moon-soon and urged efforts to turn the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics, set to take place in Gangwon, into a joint inter-Korean event of peace.

Lee met with Choi at the Seoul Government Complex and expressed hope that the 2024 Games can repeat the miracle of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

In response, the governor said it would be an honor if Gangwon Province could host an inter-Korean Olympic event.

The minister also expressed hope of reconnecting cross-border railways severed during the Korean War and link the divided Gangwon Province, which straddles the inter-Korean border, and also serve as an artery passing through the Korean Peninsula.

He said connected railways can boost development in Gangwon and border areas and mark the first step in pursuing a peaceful New Deal initiative.

Lee added the Unification Ministry will exert more active efforts from next year to advance a project to create a walking trail near the inter-Korean border area, and asked for Gangwon's cooperation.