North Korea has reportedly proposed holding inter-Korean government-level talks to discuss the possible resumption of tours to Gaeseong and Mount Geumgang in the North.

Sources familiar with North Korea affairs said Saturday that the proposal was made by North Korea’s Asia Pacific Peace Committee Vice Chairman Ri Jong-hyuk when he met with Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun at Mount Geumgang earlier on Wednesday. Hyun was in the North to attend a ceremony marking the eleventh anniversary of South Korean tours to the mountain resort.

Ri reportedly told Hyun that Seoul could regard his proposal as an official request. He also suggested that if such talks take place, the North would discuss institutional measures to secure the safety of South Korean tourists that visit Gaeseong and Mount Geumgang.

In Seoul, Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said the government is seeking to confirm the proposal, adding that Hyundai Group has yet to brief the government on Hyun’s recent North Korea trip. He added that a proposal for talks made through a private citizen cannot be regarded as an official proposal.

Seoul suspended tours to Mount Geumgang in July of last year after a South Korean tourist was shot and killed by a North Korean soldier at the resort.