The Unification Ministry says the publishing of books from North Korea in South Korea requires a permit from copyright holders and state-level permission.

The North spelled out the guidelines in a letter sent Friday to a Seoul-based civic organization for cultural and economic cooperation between the two Koreas.

The ministry said future inter-Korean copyright exchanges will reflect the new rules.

Last month, North Korea said it is willing transfer the copyrights of two hundred-76 of its books to South Korea.