The UN Security Council (UNSC) has granted a sanctions exemption to allow the two Koreas to conduct a joint survey in North Korea on reconnecting railways across the border.

According to a diplomatic source, the exemption was approved by the UNSC's North Korea sanctions committee on Friday.

South Korea had requested the sanctions exemption so that it could send necessary supplies for the rail survey to North Korea, including fuel.

The North Korean sanctions committee, consisting of the Security Council's 15 member nations, makes decisions through a consensus. No member is known to have objected to the exemption.

Now that sanctions are no longer an issue, the rail survey and a groundbreaking ceremony on the rail connection project will be able to go ahead.

The two Koreas agreed last month to begin the rail survey for the Gyeongui rail line in North Korea by late October and hold the groundbreaking ceremony between late November and early December. The timetable has been delayed due to UN sanctions.

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