By Jack Kim
CHEJIN, South Korea (Reuters) - Two trains from North and South Korea crossed the heavily fortified border on Thursday, restoring an artery severed in the 1950-1953 fratricidal war and fanning dreams of unification.
It took the two Koreas 56 years to send the trains -- one starting in the South and one in the North -- across the Cold War's last frontier. The one-off runs covered about 25 km (15 miles) each way.
The trains each carried 100 South Koreans and 50 North Koreans -- including celebrities, politicians and a South Korean driver from one of the last trains to cross before rail links were cut in 1951.
"Today the heart of the Korean peninsula will start beating again," South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said before the west coast crossing at Munsan station, about 50 km northwest of Seoul.
Across the peninsula, on the east coast, South Korean soldiers opened a gate across the tracks to welcome the train from the North.
"The trains represent the dreams, the hopes and the future of the two Koreas," Lee said.
The South Korean train which left Munsan was seen off to fireworks, traditional drumming and hundreds of people waving flags depicting a unified Korean peninsula.
Every major South Korean network covered the start of the historic crossing live, but the train quickly disappeared from view on entering the Demilitarized Zone, the 4-km (2.5-mile) buffer strip which has separated the adversaries since the 1953 armistice. Seoul's national security laws bar virtually all civilian access to the DMZ. Continued...
Diesel locomotive of the type that crossed from south to north
For the first time in 56 years, two passenger trains crossed the border between North Korea and South Korea.
Before today, no trains made the trip between the north and the south since the Korean War divided the once-unified Korea. 

Riding on rails built by South Korea several years ago, the train traveled from Munsan in the south to Kaesong in the north. The train was granted access to the demilitarized zone since 1951, the heavily guarded border between North and South Korea. Meanwhile, from the north a train traveled from Kumgang to Jejin. Each train carried 150 specially invited passengers.

"Today the heart of the Korean peninsula will start beating again," South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said.

Although largely symbolic, the rail connection is seen as an important step in thawing relations. To date, North Korea has approved only this one trial run of the trains.