Trains cross border between two Koreas

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SEOUL, May 17 (UPI) -- Two trains crossed the border between South Korea and North Korea Thursday for the first time in more than 50 years.

"It took more than half a century to cross this short, approximately 12.5-mile distance. We have to prevent anyone from blocking the railways. They were so hard to reconnect," Kim Yong Sam, North Korea's railway minister, said in a luncheon speech at Jejin Station in South Korea, Yonhap reported.

The trains, carrying 150 passengers, traveled across the heavily guarded Military Demarcation Line and were met by cheering crowds in stations in both countries, Yonhap reported.

"I hope it will contribute to forming a joint economic community and making balanced development on the Korean Peninsula. A new curtain of peace has been raised on the peninsula," South Korean Construction Minister Lee Yong-sup said of the train trip, Yonhap reported.

The border crossing was a one-time test run, Yonhap reported.