North and South Korea have held a ceremonyto mark the beginning of a projectto improve North Korea's railwaysand connect them with the South.Each side sent representatives to the ceremony,in the border town of Kaesong.Last month, the two Koreas carried outa joint inspection of parts of the North's railway system,which they hope to connect someday with the South.The goal is to link the countries' railroadsand thereby increase economic ties.The move is one of several efforts agreed toby North Korean leader Kim Jong Unand the president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in.Any progress on the project, however, will require changesto United States-led economic actions against North Korea.They are designed to punish the North Korean governmentfor its nuclear activities.The railway inspection had been delayed for monthsbecause of concerns about United Nations sanctions on the North.The U.N. Security Councilgave the two Koreas special permission for the study.North Korea has voiced displeasure with the slow progresson projects aimed at building ties between the two sides.South Korea hopes to carry out additional inspectionsbefore further details of the project are released.Work depends on progress in nuclear talks with the North.The United States and its allieshave called for restrictions to remain in placeuntil North Korea takes clear stepstoward giving up its nuclear weapons and missiles.For the ground-breaking ceremony on Wednesday,a South Korean train traveled to Kaesong.It was carrying about 100 people,including government officials and lawmakers.Members of families displaced by the Korean Warin the early 1950s also were on the train.South Korea's unification ministryreported that officials from the United Nations, China, Russiaand Mongolia joined the North Korean delegation.After the event, North and South Koreaagreed to carry out additional railway inspections.Both Koreas said they would work closely with the United Statesand the U.N. to gain support for the projectand deal with concerns over sanctions.Lee Eugene, a spokeswoman for the unification ministry,spoke with reporters."We plan to hold detailed negotiations with the Northto coordinate the specific levels we want to achievein the modernization of railways and roadsand how to carry out the project," she said.However, experts say investment in the project could take timeeven with steps toward nuclear weapons removaland easing of restrictions.Jung Dae-jin is a professorwith the Ajou Institute of Unification in South Korea.He noted that the project would increase exchangesbetween the two governments.But he said the future of Moon's plansfor connecting the railways rests with North Korea."We need to see the New Year's address by Kim Jong Un," Jung said.He added that the global communityneeds to see measures taken by the Northtoward removing nuclear weaponsfor progress on railways to go forward.