A government official says pilot tours to North Korea’s Mount Baekdu and Mount Chilbo may be realized by as early as the end of next month.

The official made the projection based on a South Korean delegation's discussions with North Korean officials over the possibility of conducting pilot tours to Mount Baekdu.

The official said that while no details were discussed at last week’s contacts in Pyongyang, the two sides had reconfirmed their consensus on the tours.

The official added that the two Koreas are considering the possibility of holding bilateral discussions on the matter at the end of next month, following the conclusion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting.

The Mount Baekdu tour program has been bogged down in delays due to unresolved tensions between Pyongyang and Hyundai Asan Coporation, the main operator of tourism projects in the North.

The current dispute was sparked after Pyongyang threatened last week to reconsider all business projects with Hyundai unless the conglomerate rehires its former point man on North Korean affairs, Kim Yoon-kyu. Kim was dimissed in August for embezzling company money.