North and South Korea on Friday began a 16-day on-site survey of railways on the east and west coast of the northern part of the peninsula.

A South Korean train carrying a 28-member inspection team crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) at 0909 local time to begin an 18-day tour of North Korea, the Ministry of Unification (MOU) said.

The two Koreas plan to conduct a survey of a 400 kilometer section of the Gyeongui railway line between Kaesong and Sinuiju between November 30 and 5.

Joint inspections of an 800-kilometer long area between Mount Kumgang and the Tumen River