North Korea has accepted South Korea's proposal of resuming a joint project to excavate an ancient royal palace in the North's border city Gaesong.

KBS has learned that South Korean historians secretly met with officials from the North's Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation in Beijing on July 15th for talks on resuming the inter-Korean project to excavate the site of Manwoldae.

It is the first time that the North has given a specific response to proposals for inter-Korean academic exchanges since South Korean Culture Minister Do Jong-hwan made the suggestion during his trip to Pyongyang in March. 

An official at the Cultural Heritage Administration in Seoul said that preparations are under way to resume the project.

The Unification Ministry also launched an internal review for the excavation after being conveyed of the North's position.  

The inter-Korean project to excavate the site of Manwoldae, a palace from the Goryeo Dynasty, was halted in December 2011 after the death of then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

[Photo : KBS News]