Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will travel to Poland and Germany next week on a train expedition program, his ministry announced Thursday.
A special train carrying more than 250 South Koreans is running through Russia under the Eurasia Express project that began July 14. Yun plans to join the Warsaw-Berlin leg of the journey, according to the ministry's spokesman Noh Kwang-il.
The program is aimed at drawing attention to South Korea's cross-continent railway ambitions.
President Park Geun-hye and her administration have pushed for the "Eurasia Initiative" aimed at linking energy and logistics infrastructure across Asia and Europe. South Korea hopes to eventually link its rail network to Russia's Trans-Siberian Railway via North Korea.
Before the ride, Yun is scheduled to hold talks with his Polish counterpart, Grzegorz Schetyna, in Warsaw on Wednesday. It will be the first foreign ministerial meeting in seven years between the two nations.
Yun will also attend a K-pop concert and a seminar on Poland's experience in reconciliation with Germany.
The minister will then head to Berlin, the final destination of the Eurasia Express train, along with other passengers, and take part in various events to mark the end of the three-week train journey and publicize the need for the reunification of Korea. (Yonhap)