(MENAFN- IANS) Seoul, Sep 22 (IANS) South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young expressed hope Monday to resume an inter-Korean tour program to North Korea's Mount Kumgang and expand it to the newly developed Kalma beach resort.

Chung made the remarks during a meeting with Hyun Jeong-eun, chairperson of Hyundai Group, the parent firm of Hyundai Asan, which operated the now-suspended tours to the North's Mount Kumgang resort.

The once-brisk tour program came to an abrupt halt in July 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot to death by North Korean soldiers for entering what Pyongyang claimed was an off-limits military area, reports Yonhap news agency.

"I hope the day will soon come when the tour to the Mount Kumgang tourist zone can be linked ... to (North Korea's) Wonsan-Kalma beach area so that it can be operated properly," the minister noted.

Chung said US President Donald Trump's previous remarks about North Korea's "great beaches" made the Kalma resort area "famous," adding that "It would be tremendously important for a summit between President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un to take place."

The Hyundai chairwoman echoed the hope, saying, "Hyundai wishes tours could resume by linking Mount Kumgang with Wonsan, especially now that North Korea has heavily developed the area."

After years of development, North Korea opened the Kalma beach resort in the eastern coastal city of Wonsan in early July, aiming to attract foreign tourists, although South Koreans remain barred.

During the meeting, Hyundai Asan CEO Lee Paik-hoon said the company is ready to open tours to the North Korean beach "anytime," noting that the tour project wouldn't be profitable without South Korean tourists.

"Wonsan is a destination (South Korean tourists) should visit by cruise ships," he said, adding the firm has already secured passenger vessels.

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