South and North Korea will hold working-level talks Wednesday in the border city of Gaesong to discuss trial runs of cross-border inter-Korean railways.

During the two-day meeting, the two sides will discuss the matter as agreed at the latest inter-Korean ministerial talks, in particular a military safety guarantee that is imperative for the test runs.

At the Cabinet-level talks last month, the two sides agreed to conduct test runs for the Donghae and Gyeongui lines in the first half of the year as soon as safety issues are resolved.

Difficulties are expected in the talks as the South is stressing a military safety guarantee for the test runs and the North will likely urge the provision of raw materials for their light industry.

The inter-Korean railways were cut off in 1951 after the outbreak of the Korean War.