The government reportedly may allow the importation of stamps issued by North Korea depicting South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.

NK Auction, an online dealer of North Korean goods, said Monday that the Unification Ministry had asked the firm to submit the necessary paperwork to allow the sale of the stamps in South Korea.

The government's stance on the stamps is a turnaround from April last year, when it rejected their sale on the grounds that the stamps could be inappropriately used as ideological propaganda.

Such a move comes amid rising tension between Seoul and Tokyo over the islets lying between the two countries in the East Sea.