South Korea has been working to relink an inter-Korean railway to open a path to the Eurasian continent, Seoul's top official handling inter-Korean ties said Monday.

"If (the Koreas are) reunified, the Gyeongwon Line will link the South and the North and become a path of unification and hope extending to the world," Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said in an address marking his train journey from Seoul to the central border county of Cheorwon.

Last month, South Korea began work to restore the Gyeongwon Line, which once ran from central Seoul to North Korea's eastern city of Wonsan. The first step involves restoring a 9.3-kilometer section of the railway lying below the inter-Korean border, while the rest of the railway will be restored only after consultations with the North.

Tensions over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs have thwarted efforts to reconnect the inter-Korean railway and link it to Russia's Trans-Siberian Railway.

"The government is working to realize the dream of reaching Eurasia, which started with the groundbreaking ceremony for the (restoration of the) Gyeongwon Line," Hong said.

The President Park Geun-hye administration has sought to link energy and logistics infrastructure across Asia and Europe under its "Eurasia Initiative."

More than 120 people took the train with Hong, including Home Affairs Minister Chong Jong-sup, participants in July's Eurasia Express intercontinental train expedition and North Korean defectors. (Yonhap)