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June 27 (UPI) -- Russia and South Korea are discussing ways to build economic bridges in the Russian Far East and Siberia, while looking beyond North Korea's current isolation to improve relations. South Korea's foreign ministry said Tuesday that Alexander Krutikov, the deputy minister for the development of the Russian Far East, and South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Jeong-kyu met to discuss ways to increase South Korean trade and investment in Russia.
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Potential projects could include joint exploration of the North Pole, developing shipping channels that cross the Arctic Circle, shipbuilding and energy development.
The two sides also agreed to establish a hotline between Seoul's trade agency KOTRA and Russia's Far East investment promotion arm, according to Yonhap.
Cooperation between the two countries was partly suspended in 2016, when a three-way shipping project that brought Russian coal to South Korea through a North Korean transfer point was shut down in response to an increase in North Korea provocations.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, however, has been advocating for a more conciliatory approach to North Korea and promoting regional economic development as a way to bring Pyongyang out of isolation.
During the second annual Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank board of governors meeting, Moon had called for the reconnecting of a railroad that runs from South to North.
South Korean politicians are seizing the new approach to North Korea as an opportunity to pursue deals that often involve Russia.
Yang Ki-dae, the mayor of South Korea's Gwangmyeong city, said in May he has been in talks with Vladimir Miklushevsky, the governor of Russia's Far East maritime province Primorsky Krai to launch a commercial ferry service that would connect the South Korean city to China and Russia.
The ferry service would enable travelers to reach the Chinese side of Mount Paektu, the official birthplace of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, according to Yonhap.
