North and South Korea to joint excavate ancient palace site

SEOUL, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- North and South Korea will conduct a joint archaeological excavation on an ancient royal palace site in the North Korean city of Kaeseong.

A joint excavation team will be formed to discover remains at the palace site of the ancient kingdom of Goryeo (918-1392) and restore damaged parts from October to December in the ancient capital city of Kaeseong, 36 miles north of Seoul, a state heritage agency said on Tuesday.

The joint excavation project started in 2007 and it will resume for the eighth round this time.

The team has discovered more than 16,500 artifacts, including remains of the palace buildings, ceramics and metal letter prints, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration.

South Korean culture officials have suggested that the North and South list the traditional wrestling of Korea as an intangible cultural asset to UNESCO.

The South Korean government has applied to list the Korean traditional wrestling, Ssireum, as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO. The final decision will be made at a UNESCO meeting in November.