The two Koreas will hold a groundbreaking ceremony, Wednesday, in Gaeseong, North Korea, for a project aimed at modernizing and connecting roads and railways across the Demilitarized Zone. / Joint Press Corps

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By Yi Whan-woo

The two Koreas will jointly hold a groundbreaking ceremony, Wednesday, for a project aimed at modernizing and connecting roads and railways across the Demilitarized Zone.

The ceremony will be made possible as the U.N. Security Council (UNSC), despite economic sanctions against the North, has granted sanctions exemptions for the preliminary steps of the joint railway project.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday the UNSC, after approving a feasibility study in November, also granted exemptions for the groundbreaking ceremony.

"We've consulted the council's Sanctions Committee on North Korea, Monday, and settled all relevant issues to proceed with the groundbreaking ceremony," the ministry said. "This means we can go ahead with the ceremony on Wednesday as scheduled."

The project is part of a wider push by the Moon Jae-in administration to improve inter-Korean relations and set the stage for large-scale investment in the long term.

The groundbreaking ceremony is not an actual start of the construction. But it was seen as critical to forecast whether the United States is willing to support inter-Korean economic cooperation amid concerns over a possible violation of U.S.-led international sanctions on North Korea.