South Korean goods will be able to reach Europe via North Korean and Russian railways from the second half of this year.

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Wednesday the new route will open thanks to a project aimed at modernizing railways between the North Korean city of Najin and Russia’s Khasan.

Last week, North Korea and Russia agreed to establish a joint firm in June to modernize the 54- kilometer stretch linking Najin and Khasan. They aim to test-run the new tracks from the latter half of the year.

Moscow’s share in the envisioned joint firm will amount to 70 percent. Given the difficulties in negotiating directly with Pyongyang, South Korea will contribute to the project by setting up a separate logistics firm with Russia.

Currently, it takes around 40 days to transport goods from South Korea to Europe by sea. Once
the railways linking the two Koreas and Russia are fully modernized, South Korean products will reach Europe in just 17 days.