Koreas hold groundbreaking ceremony for joint railways project

High-ranking officials from North and South Korea held the groundbreaking ceremony for the joint railways project, which will traverse through the demilitarised zone (DMZ) between the two countries, on Wednesday at the Panmun station here.

The two sides signed a railway sleeper and unveiled a signboard during the ceremony that comes in the aftermath of the April inter-Korean summit held between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to Yonhap News Agency.

South Korea's Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee and Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon were among the 100 participants from the nation who arrived in a special train to Kaesong on Wednesday morning to take part in the ceremony.

Meanwhile, North Korea's agency for inter-Korean ties' chairman Ri Son-gwon and Vice Railway Minister Kim Yun-hyok were at the helm of affairs for North Korea's delegation for the occasion. Furthermore, officials from the United Nations, Russia, China and Mongolia also attended the event.

Before this, the two Koreas held an 18-day long joint inspection of North Korea's railways which started at the end of November this year.