Former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry hopes to visit an industrial complex north of the inter-Korean border later this month.

South Korea's unification minister said Friday that Perry voiced his wish to visit the Gaesong Industrial Complex in late February.

The South Korean government has asked Pyongyang to issue an invitation to Perry.

According to analysts, however, it remains to be seen whether North Korea will comply with the request and invite Perry, as he holds a hard-line view on the communist state. Perry also hopes to bring along Washington's former ambassador to South Korea, Stephen W. Bosworth.

Under the administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton, Perry formulated what was called "the Perry process" in dealing with North Korea's nuclear brinkmanship in 1998. The process offered two alternatives to Pyongyang: either forego its missile and nuclear programs and receive political and economic benefits, or risk actions by other states to contain North Korea's threat.

As the defense chief in 1994, Perry had ordered military brass to prepare a contingency plan to strike North Korea's nuclear facilities when Pyongyang was moving to produce weapons-grade plutonium.