Hyundai Asan Corporation on Thursday said its 2000 contract with North Korea granted the Hyundai Group exclusive rights to conduct tourism in the inter-Korean border city of Gaesong.

A company source said the agreement on economic cooperation stipulates seven inter-Korean projects including the development of tourist attractions in the North, but declined to reveal further details of the accord.

Gaesong, the capital of the ancient Goryeo Dynasty and home to an inter-Korean industrial complex, is specified as one of the tourist sites along with Mounts Baekdu and Myohyang.

Hyundai Asan said it paid 500 million dollars for the exclusive tourism rights over 30 years.

The source said the agreement requires that dispute resolution shall come through mutual agreement, and if the parties fail to settle within 30 days, three representatives from each side must form an arbitration committee.