TOKYO, May 11 (RIA Novosti) - North and South Korea signed a deal Friday to pass test trains through the trans-Korean railroad May 17 for the first time in 56 years, South Korea's news agency Yonhap said.

Top military generals on both sides met in the 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) demilitarized zone cut out along the border between the two countries, the agency said. They agreed to pass test trains with 100 passengers each into one another's territory.

The two railroads were linked June 14, 2003 but traffic did not start as planned last May because the militaries failed to ensure security guarantees. Two months later, North Korea tested its new missiles, which froze relations even further, and talks resumed only in February after a successful round of six-party talks also involving China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

The military also signed a news statement where both sides promised to further discuss a demarcation line and military security in the Yellow Sea, a condition the North had insisted on before further talks.

The Koreas promised to hold a second meeting of the two defense ministers soon and hold the sixth round of bilateral military-to-military talks in July.

If linked with the Trans-Siberian Railroad, the trans-Korean one will connect the Korean Peninsula directly to Europe.