The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) will lift curbs on border crossings this week, the latest in a series of peace overtures towards the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Traffic to a RoK-funded joint industrial site at Kaesong , located north of the border, will be normalised from September 1, the AFP quoted RoK’s Unification Ministry as saying on August 31.

In an attempt to protest at the RoK’s policies, the DPRK has imposed strict border curbs since last December, reducing the number of daily crossings to six from 23 and expelling hundreds of RoK’s staff from Kaesong .

The restrictions hampered business at the estate, where some 40,000 people from the DPRK work for about 100 RoK firms.

In another move, the RoK government is planning a joint mechanism with the DPRK to supervise security and other sensitive border issues before officially resuming tourist activities in the Mount Kumgang resort./.