South and North Korea held a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday to reconnect and modernize roads and railways linking the two Koreas.

Seoul's Unification Ministry said the ceremony began as scheduled at Panmun Station in the North's border town of Gaeseong at around 10 a.m.

On hand were high-ranking officials from the two Koreas.

A special train carrying some 100 South Korean participants arrived at the station earlier to attend the event. 

The visiting delegation was led by Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, and included parliamentary leaders. 

In a press release, the ministry said the groundbreaking ceremony is meaningful in that it demonstrates the Koreas' willingness to actively cooperate on the modernization and connection project of their railways and roads going forward.

The actual construction will be pursued in line with situations related to the North's denuclearization and global sanctions against North Korea.