Koreas agree to open connecting railways, roads in October

South and North Korea have agreed to officially open railways and roads linking the two countries in late October, South Korea said on Sunday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong II and then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung agreed at a summit in 2000 to open two sets of rail tracks and adjacent roads -- one on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula and one near the west.

The agreement to hold an official ceremony to open the links in October was reached at two-day talks which ended on Saturday in Kaesong, a North Korean town near the border with the South.

Both sides agreed that the opening ceremonies should take place after military safeguards are in place, the Unification Ministry statement said. It did not elaborate. The two Koreas are expected to hold joint inspections of the railways next month, the statement said. They have also agreed to form a joint committee to operate the railways and roads, it said.

Separately, the two Koreas have agreed to set August 14-17 as the dates for a joint celebration of the 60th anniversary of Korea's August 15 liberation from colonial Japan, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.