North and South Korea will open a joint liaison office on Friday aimed at fostering cross-border communications and relations.
South Korea's Unification Ministry announced Wednesday the new office will be opened in the North Korean city of Kaesong, located near the border that splits the rivals.
The ministry says the liaison office will become "a round-the-clock consultation and communication channel" aimed at "easing military tensions and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula."
Both nations will deploy up to 20 officials to staff the office.
The idea for the liaison office grew out of the April summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. It was scheduled to open last month, but was delayed due to an impasse between North Korea and the United States over the pace of North Korea's dismantling of its nuclear weapons program, a promise Kim Jong Un made during his summit with President Donald Trump in Singapore in June.
The situation has since improved after a South Korean presidential delegation traveled to Pyongyang last week and personally met with Kim, who passed on a letter to President Trump offering to engage in a second round of talks.