First North Korean Ship In South Korea For 50 Years

For the first time in more than half a century a North Korean cargo ship has arrived in a South Korean port, South Korean media reports. The docking of the North Korea-registered cargo ship is the latest symbolic move in inter-Korean reconciliation efforts. The 1,853-ton freighter Kang Son Ho, carrying a 27-member crew, docked at the port in the southeastern city of Busan around and will make three round trips between Busan and North Korea's northeastern port city of Rajin every month beginning this week.A South Korean police boat is seen beside North Korea cargo ship Kang Son Ho near Busan Port in Busan, south of Seoul.It is the first time a North Korean cargo ship made a call at Busan since the 1950-1953 Korean War. Inter-Korean contact has increased since the 2000 summit between then South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in North Korea's capital Pyongyang. Last week, North and South Korean trains crossed the military demarcation line in trial runs of reconnected cross-border railways, the first of its kind since the railways were severed during the Korean War.