Anchor: South and North Korea may begin a preliminary study on refurbishing and linking railways as early as this week. That follows United States and United Nations Security Council's decision to ease some sanctions allowing South Korea to bring the supplies it needs for the operation to the North.  
Kurt Achin has this report.

Report: Unification Ministry Spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told reporters Monday the two Koreas are now discussing a specific timetable for a joint inspection of the North's railways.

Baik says South Korea has proposed a specific date, but did not provide more detail.  The two sides may begin the inspection as early as this week, following a mandatory 48-hour advance notice to United Nations Command.

Following the inter-Korean summit in April, the two Koreas in August sought to run a South Korean train along the length of North Korea to the Chinese border to survey rail conditions. But, the effort was thwarted by the South Korea-based UN Command, which did not approve the crossing of the military demarcation line. 

A Unification Ministry official says discussions to get the process moving are under way. 

It’s the first step toward eventually rebuilding the North’s railways and linking them to the South, but sanctions have so far prevented even a groundbreaking ceremony from taking place.  

The survey would require South Korea to send in oil and other materials prohibited by U.N. and U.S. sanctions aimed at curbing the North’s nuclear weapons progress.  Some of the equipment contains U.S. parts and technology off limits to the North under ordinary circumstances. 

But the sanctions regime has changed in recent days, with both Washington granting an exemption to unilateral sanctions and the United Nations Security Council doing the same for international sanctions.
Kurt Achin, KBS World Radio News.