A delegation of South Korean government and company officials visited the North Korean border village of Kaesong on Friday to prepare for the opening of a joint liaison office there, South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a statement.

During the daylong visit, the 14-member team, led by Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae Sung, inspected locations and facilities inside the complex appropriate for setting up the inter-Korean liaison office.

They crossed over to the North in the morning via the western land border and returned to the South in the evening, becoming the first South Koreans to visit the factory zone since February 2016.

"Most of the facilities seemed fine on the surface," the statement said, while adding that there were some areas in need of repair. Five North Koreans also joined the inspection, it said.

The ministry vowed to have discussions with experts to decide whether to carry out an additional inspection before embarking on the opening of the office.

(Chun Hae Sung, South Korea's vice unification minister)

The delegation included officials from large conglomerates such as Hyundai Asan Corp. and KT Corp.

In the Panmunjeom Declaration signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae In in their April 27 summit, they agreed to set up a joint liaison office with resident representatives in Kaesong for close consultation between the two countries and for exchanges between their peoples.

The industrial zone was set by the two Koreas in 2004 as a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation. Over 120 South Korean firms operated there, employing some 54,000 North Koreans, until it was shut down in February 2016 during the administration of former South Korean President Park Geun Hye.