A South Korean train that was used in the two Koreas' 18-day inspection of railways in North Korea returned home Tuesday.

The Unification Ministry in Seoul said officials from the South took over the six-car train at the North's Panmun Station, and the train arrived at Dorasan Station south of the border at around 10:25 a.m.

The train's return comes a day after a 28-member South Korean team of officials and rail experts crossed home by bus after completing its ten-day survey of the eastern rail line in the North.

For 18 days from November 30th, the train ran a combined two-thousand-600 kilometers along North Korea's eastern and western railways as part of Seoul and Pyongyang's April agreement to reconnect and modernize their railways and roads.

It was also the first time a South Korean train was allowed to operate on the North's eastern rail line connecting Mount Geumgang and Tumen River since the two Koreas were divided after the Korean War.