diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index eb9cba569..51688d264 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+strongswan-5.3.0
+----------------
+
 - Added support for IKEv2 make-before-break reauthentication. By using a global
   CHILD_SA reqid allocation mechanism, charon supports overlapping CHILD_SAs.
   This allows the use of make-before-break instead of the previously supported
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index f1e504651..4159d60a6 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 #  initialize & set some vars
 # ============================
 
-AC_INIT([strongSwan],[5.2.2])
+AC_INIT([strongSwan],[5.3.0dr1])
 AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE(m4_esyscmd([
 	echo tar-ustar
 	echo subdir-objects