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| ▲ Officials attend a plenary meeting of a special parliamentary committee, overseeing South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern port city of Busan, at the National Assembly on Feb. 9, 2023. (Yonhap) |
S Korea-World Expo
S. Korea to run special trains connecting Seoul, Busan for World Expo bid
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to operate special high-speed trains connecting Seoul and the southeastern city of Busan to better support officials who will be visiting the country to conduct an on-site inspection of the 2030 World Expo candidate city, the government said Thursday.
"The government plans to run non-stop high-speed KTX trains connecting Seoul and Busan so that Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) officials can experience South Korea's top-notch transportation infrastructure," the land ministry said in a briefing to a special parliamentary committee overseeing the country's bid to host the Expo in Busan.
The ministry said it plans to wrap the special trains with images promoting the port city and also provide flights connecting Busan and Incheon International Airport for BIE officials conducting the on-site inspection.
Officials from the BIE, a Paris-based intergovernmental body in charge of overseeing the Expo, are scheduled to conduct an on-site inspection from April 3-7.
As part of efforts to host the international event, Second Vice Land Minister Eo Myeong-so said the government also plans to speed up the construction of a new airport on Gadeok Island, Busan's biggest island.
Government officials who attended the meeting, including Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon and First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong, said they will also support the Expo bid through civic and diplomatic activities.
Members of the special parliamentary committee urged officials to do their best in preparing for the on-site inspection and ordered the government to complete the airport construction by 2029 at the latest.
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