The Unification Ministry said Sunday that it hopes to hold face-to-face consultations with North Korea in response to a media report that the North’s premier inspected the Mount Geumgang tourist area and discussed ways to implement a plan to develop the region.

The ministry said in a statement that it hopes to hold inter-Korean discussions at an appropriate time, given that both South and North Korea share the opinion that they need to resolve matters regarding the Geumgang region and to develop it into an international tourist destination.  

The statement came hours after the North's official Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) reported that Premier Kim Tuk-hun visited tourist zones and facilities in the region and discussed technical issues that reflect the ruling Workers' Party's views on a development plan for the region. 

Discussions reportedly addressed steps and sequences to implement the development plan, under which world-class hotels, a golf course and ski resorts will be built. 

The KCNA said that Kim stressed the need to build the tourist area in a style that reflects the country's "own way," in which national characters and modernity are combined and juxtaposed in good harmony with the natural scenery of the mountain.