North Korea has asked South Korea's Hyundai Asan to pay the Mount Geumgang travel costs in Euros and no longer in U.S. dollars.

Hyundai Asan, Seoul’s main operator of inter-Korean tourism projects, has been providing South Korean tours to the North's scenic mountain resort since late 1998.

A North-related source also said on Wednesday that in fact Hyundai has been paying a part of its payment in Euros since February.

The demand for the change in currency is believed to stem from U.S. financial sanctions that have further tightened from last fall.

Hyundai agreed to pay a total nine hundred-40 million dollars to the North for the tours between 1998 and last year, but only four-hundred million has been delivered due to the company's financial struggles.

Hyundai currently pays 70 dollars per tourist or about a million every month to the North.