Half of the South Korean historians taking part in a joint excavation project in North Korea have returned home amid rising military tensions on the Korean Peninsula. 
 
A Unification Ministry official said Monday that the five members of the South-North project on conserving and restoring the site of Manwoldae returned to the South last weekend in line with the government’s recommendation, leaving only the most essential staff behind.
 
Manwoldae is the site of a royal palace that dates back to the medieval Goryeo Kingdom in the North’s border city of Gaeseong.
 
The two Koreas began work at the site in 2007, having carried out a total of six joint excavations until last year.