Unification Minister Lee Jae-jeong will visit the Gaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea on Wednesday. The visit is Lee’s first since taking office last month.

Lee is scheduled to have lunch in downtown Gaesong before he tours major tourist spots and the industrial park in the border city.

Lee’s visit has touched off speculation that Pyongyang may have changed its policy on Gaesong tours.

Last July, the communist state banned South Korean officials from entering the border city's downtown area after Seoul denied its request to change the South Korean tour company from Hyundai Asan to Lotte Tours.