SEOUL, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Some of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) officials returned Monday to the joint liaison office with South Korea in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong, South Korea's unification ministry said.

The ministry said in a statement that a part of the DPRK staff came to the liaison office for shift work as usual early Monday morning.

Officials from the two sides had a meeting as usual in the morning, according to the ministry.

The liaison office, which opened last September for the round-the-clock communications between the two Koreas, would be in normal operation, the ministry said.

It came after the DPRK announced its decision Friday to withdraw all of its staff from the liaison office.