South and North Korea have decided to conduct geological surveys in the first quarter of next year for the construction of joint shipyards in the North.

The two Koreas unveiled the decision in a joint statement issued Friday after the first round of talks on shipbuilding and maritime cooperation in Busan.

However, the two sides failed to narrow differences on the key issues of cross-border transports, communications and customs related to the joint shipyards.

The two Koreas will meet in Gaesong in mid-March for a second round of maritime cooperation talks.

The two Koreas agreed to build a ship repair center in the western port of Nampo and a ship block manufacturing plant in the eastern port of Anbyeon. The inter-Korean economic cooperation project was agreed upon at the South-North summit in October.