The Hyundai Group chairwoman and the vice chair of North Korea’s Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, Ri Jong-hyok, began a two-day meeting in the North's border city of Gaesong on Thursday.

Chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun will seek to smooth over her company's tempestuous relations with Pyongyang and normalize operations of Hyundai Asan's Mount Geumgang tour program.

The two sides will also discuss new tourism projects in Mount Baekdu and Gaesong.

Before leaving for the North Korean border city, Hyun told reporters that she was optimistic about the meeting, but expressed some apprehension nevertheless, pointing out that the visit would be her first in a long time.