For First Time in a Decade, a South Korean Train Rolls Into the North

A South Korean train on Friday crossed into North Korea for the first time in a decade, as the two countries began a joint study on renovating the North’s decrepit rail system and linking it to the South’s, The New York Times reports.

Over the next 18 days, dozens of officials and engineers from both Koreas will live and work on the six-car train, traveling more than 1,600 miles as they study the North’s rail network and consider what it would take to bring it up to international standards. The train rolled north across the countries’ heavily armed border on Friday morning.

The joint study "signals that inter-Korean cooperation is reaching a new level," said Kim Eui-kyeom, the spokesman for President Moon Jae-in of South Korea.