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Making a further step to connect the Asian Pacific with Europe, transport ministers and officials from eighteen member states of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) signed the inter-governmental agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network on Nov. 10 at the ministerial conference on transport in Pusan, S. Korea.

"The agreement on the Asia-Pacific railroad network envisions inter-modal transport services between Asia and Europe," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday. The network will connect the region, including Russia's Far East, to Europe, the statement said.

The Trans-Siberian Railroad, which runs 9,288 kilometers across eight time zones from Moscow to Vladivostok in the Russian Far East, will serve as a trans-Asian railroad network section in Russia. Another line from China links with it via Mongolia. The missing link to fully connect South Korea with the Russian Far East is 6,500 kilometers of track. Here cross-border hurdles include switching between differently gauged tracks, and the fact that South Korea would need to cross North Korea’s territory to access the Russian or Chinese rail networks.

UNESCAP is the largest of the UN's five Regional Commissions, in terms of population served and area covered. It is the only inter-governmental forum, covering the entire Asia-Pacific Rim. It aims to promote economic activity and welfare in the region's developing countries.