The South Korean government has again withheld a decision on a request by a group of South Korean businesspeople to visit the shuttered inter-Korean Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea to check up on their equipment and facilities.

Unification Ministry spokesperson Baik Tae-hyun said on Friday that the situation surrounding the two Koreas has not changed much since the last time the request was withheld in January.

When asked for the reasoning behind the decision, Baik said Seoul is currently pushing for inter-Korean economic cooperation projects within the framework of international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.

Earlier this month, Seoul had suggested allowing the visit, but is believed to have decided to defer approval after failing to secure Washington's permission during the two sides' working group meeting last week.

This is the eighth time businesses in Gaeseong have requested permission to visit the industrial park since the Park Geun-hye administration shut down the complex in response to North Korea's missile and nuclear tests in 2016.