SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- South Korea will consider the latest proposal made by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on discussing the resumption of the border tourism between the two countries, Seoul's Ministry of Unification said on Thursday.

    The ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung confirmed that the DPRK side sent a notice late Thursday to South Korea suggesting to hold a inter-Korean working contact at Mt. Kumgang Resort on Jan. 26-27to discuss the reopening of tourism of the Mt. Kumgang and Kaesong city.

    Chun said the proposal is currently under review, and the government will make its stand later.

    Local media said the South Korean government is likely to accept the proposal, but also set aside time for consideration.

    The Kumgang tour program, run by South Korea's Hyundai Asian Corp., has been launched in 1998. More than 1.9 million South Koreans have visited the resort.

    On July 11, 2008, 53-year-old South Korean housewife Park Wang-ja was shot dead while she was wandering into a controlled military zone at the Mount Kumgang at the DPRK's east coast.

    South Korea, in response, immediately suspended the tour program, requesting a thorough investigation, which the DPRK rejected.

    As for the tourism program to Kaesong city, it has been launched in December 2007, but was stopped a year later as the inter-Korean ties rapidly soured.

    Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of South Korea's Hyundai Group, paid a visit to Pyongyang in August last year and met with the DPRK leader Kim Jong-il. The two sides reached a five-point agreement on the resumption of the cross-border tourism project.

    However, the South Korean government repeatedly reaffirmed that the DPRK side should first carry out a thorough investigation over the 2008 shooting case, work out effective preventive measures and set up systems to guarantee tourists' safety.