South and North Korea have unearthed a piece of metal type at an ancient palace in the North's border city of Kaesong as they wrapped up a joint excavation project, a group of historians said Monday.

The block of movable metal type was one of about 3,500 relics that have been excavated at the site of Manwoldae, a Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) palace in Kaesong, during the six-month project, according to the group of the two Koreas' historians.

South and North Korea kicked off the project on June 1 to uncover Manwoldae, which was registered as a world cultural heritage in 2013, as they are seeking to promote civilian inter-Korean exchanges this year.

The metal type is presumed to have been created during the Goryeo Dynasty, but more study is needed to verify when it was made, Choe Kwang-shik, head of the association, told a press briefing.

Two other pieces of metal type blocks from the Goryeo Dynasty exist, respectively in South and North Korea.

The Manwoldae project began in 2007, but suffered setbacks in 2011 amid drawn-out stand-offs between the two Koreas.

The two sides pushed for the project in a full-fledged manner this year to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

The Seoul government earlier decided to provide 276 million won ($238,000) in assistance for the project in line with efforts to promote inter-Korean social and cultural exchanges. (Yonhap)