In a panel co-hosted by the Global Peace Foundation at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Alexander Zhebin of the Russian Academy of Sciences said Russia is interested in improved inter-Korea relations that will open up new economic opportunities for the Russian Far East.

Zhebin cited the Hasan-Rajin railway as an example of a project between Moscow and Pyongyang that could bring benefits to all participants, including South Korea.

The railway is a connectivity project that is part of a pilot program involving North Korea, South Korea and Russia. Russian coal has been transported from the North Korean port of Rajin to South Korea by ship in a three-way logistics project that could provide a model for future economic cooperation.