A civic group on inter-Korean relations has urged the government to take the lead in inter-Korean projects, saying North Korea should not hold sway over the ventures.

The Forum for Inter-Korean Relations issued a statement Friday after Pyongyang threatened the day before to reconsider all business projects with South Korea's Hyundai Asan Corporation if Kim Yoon-kyu is not reinstalled as vice chairman.

The group claimed that some one-thousand companies that have participated in North Korea-related projects have gone belly-up or dropped out midway.

It urged the government to reconsider inter-Korean projects across the board if Hyundai's tour program to the North's Mount Geumgang failed to normalize, arguing that Pyongyang has nothing to gain from a prolonged squabble with the South Korean company.

Kim Yoon-kyu, Hyundai's long-time point man on the North and a Pyongyang favorite, was fired for embezzlement in August.