The Unification Ministry said Friday that 9,200 members of 22 local NGOs concentrating on civic aid for the communist state are planning to visit Pyongyang to mark the 60th year of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

They will visit historical sites, factories and collective farms in the North's capital and watch the Arirang Festival, an annual gala of mass gymnastics and performing arts.

A government official says the event is expected to boost inter-Korean ties through exchanges on the civic level.

Some 50,000 South Koreans visited the North this year as of August. The number is far higher than last year's 20,000 and excludes tourists to the Mount Geumgang resort.