Unification Minister Lee In-young has reaffirmed a push to reconnect inter-Korean railways and seek individual tourism to North Korea.

In a video message to a global forum hosted by the Korea Institute for National Unification on Wednesday, Lee said "that is the way forward" and it's an "obligation that shouldn't be neglected."

The minister said that tasks at hand include reconnecting and modernizing roads and railways between the two Koreas, implementing individual tours to North Korea and facilitating nuclear negotiations between the North and the U.S. based on cross-border trust.

He also stressed the need for an East Asian community such as the European Union or ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

President Moon Jae-in proposed launching a Northeast Asian cooperation body on health and quarantine during his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly last month.