SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it has been closely consulting with the United States on cooperation projects with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Foreign Ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk told a press briefing that the inter-Korean cooperation projects, including the railway cooperation, have been pushed for under a principle of observing sanctions on the DPRK.

Noh said Seoul has closely consulted, and will continue to do so, with Washington on the issue.

His comment came a day after South Korea and the DPRK agreed to hold a groundbreaking ceremony in late November or early December to modernize and eventually connect railways and roads across the inter-Korean border.

It could be the resumption of inter-Korean economic cooperation, which stopped with the shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong.

The industrial zone, the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation, was unilaterally closed down by the previous South Korean government in February 2016 over the DPRK's fourth nuclear test.