Russia Mulls Underwater Pipeline to Supply Gas to South Korea

Russia is considering building an underwater pipeline along South Korea's eastern coast to export natural gas from Russia's Sakhalin to South Korea, according to Arirang News.

Arirang News, citing various Russian media reports, said that the pipeline could either run from Sakhalin to Vladivostok and North Korea towards South Korea, or it could go under the ocean.

The underwater pipeline would be up to 900 kilometers long, the report said.

Putin’s comments come as the land pipeline option through North Korea is becoming more unlikely due to the prolonged tensions on the Korean peninsula.

In 2008, Seoul and Moscow agreed to build the three-nation pipeline by 2015 to provide affordable Russian gas to South Korea, while normalizing relations between the two Koreas.

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