North Korea has asked Lotte Tourism to jointly launch a tourism project in its border town Gaesong.

According to a company official, the North made the oral proposal to company chairman Kim Ki-byung during his visit to the 2005 Pyongyang Open Golf Tournament in late August.

The official said Lotte would contact the North after studying the profitability of such a project.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Asan, the main operator of the Gaesong tour project, is taking issue with Lotte’s possible entry, citing its “exclusive right” to tourism in the North Korean town as specified in a deal on seven projects agreed with the North in 2000.