North Korea has urged South Korea to agree to working-level talks to resume their suspended cross-border tourism project "as soon as possible."

The Unification Ministry in Seoul said the North's Guidance Bureau for Comprehensive Development of Scenic Spots on Thursday made the demand in a message delivered to South Korean officials in the North Korean border town of Gaeseong.

A ministry official said the message is seen as the North's response to Seoul's Tuesday notice, in which it said it would notify Pyongyang about its decisions on the matter soon.

The official said that Seoul is deliberating on whether to accept the offer, taking the schedules for inter-Korean Red Cross talks and reunions into consideration.

The North had proposed that the working-level talks on the tours be held on Friday, but the South has remained undecided on whether to hold the talks.