SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- South Korea was in consultation with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to hold a groundbreaking ceremony within this year for railway and road connections across the inter-Korean border, Seoul's unification ministry said Wednesday.

Baik Tae-hyun, unification ministry spokesman, told a press briefing that South Korea and the DPRK shared a view to hold a groundbreaking ceremony before the end of this year to modernize and connect railways and roads along the eastern and western Korean Peninsula.

Baik said the two sides were currently in consultation on the issue, noting that South Korea had sent a basic plan to the DPRK.

The two sides launched an 18-day joint inspection on the DPRK railways on Nov. 30 to eventually connect rail lines across the border.

It was a part of efforts to implement the Panmunjom Declaration, which South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un signed after their first summit in April at the border village of Panmunjom. The two leaders agreed to link railways and roads across the border.

After their third summit in Pyongyang in September, Moon and Kim agreed to hold the groundbreaking ceremony before the end of this year for the railway and road connections.