South Korea’s Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry said Thursday it would propose a joint research with North Korea to develop marine resources and ocean tourism.
“There needs to be an excavation of North Korea’s marine resources, and development of ecotourism content and infrastructure, in order to attract Asian tourists,” the ministry said in a press briefing on its policy for 2015.
The plan is to work together on eco-friendly marine tourism measures with North Korea, and designate uninhabited islands as “Islands of Peace” where they can develop resources together.
The ministry established an MOU with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the Ministry of Unification in March, and agreed to support North Korea in cultural and farming developments.
Seoul officials also discussed providing official developmental assistance for North Korea’s project on the Daedonggang River, which runs through Pyongyang. The North previously asked to join a Yellow Sea ecosystem preservation project, in which South Korea and China are collaborating.
The Maritime Ministry also said that they would establish the third “Dokdo Use Plan for 2016-2020,” and continue their monitoring of the island grounds and research on the marine ecosystem, and support operational expenses on Dokdo ― such as accommodation for residents, management ships, a Dokdo museum and a 3-D promotional animation on the islets.
Additionally, the ministry said it plans to submit a draft of the maritime jurisdiction management law at the National Assembly in June in order to systemize marine territory management.
They will also carry out a demonstration project regarding phytoplankton, where they plan increase the cultivation facilities from 0.5 ha to 1 ha in order to develop environmentally friendly diesel technology for everyday use.
The ministry also laid out plans for stronger safety measures, with plans to publicise the safety situation for accident-prone ships every quarter, and designate the safest ships as priority operators. There are also plans for marine traffic environmental assessment and guidelines for ship operations on major ship and oil tanker passageways.
