The DPRK has agreed to reopen its border with neighboring South Korea, and to allow tourism and family reunions to resume.

Photo released by Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) central news agency on Aug. 16, 2009 shows Kim Jong Il (C Front), top leader of the DPRK, and Chairwoman of South Korea's Hyundai Group Hyun Jung-eun (L, front) posing for a picture in Pyongyang, capital of DPRK. [Xinhua/KCNA]

The agreement follows a meeting between DPRK's top leader, Kim Jong Il, and the chief of South Korea's Hyundai Group.

Sunday's meeting between Kim Jong Il and Hyundai Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun in Pyongyang has effectively revived stalled cross-border projects.

The Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and the Hyundai Group released a joint statement saying that Kim Jong Il had agreed to all of Hyun Jeong-eun's requests.

The joint announcement said that South Korea and the DPRK have agreed to resume tourism to Mt.

Kumgang as soon as possible, and to launch tours of Pirobong, the mountain's highest peak. Pyongyang said it will provide visiting tour groups with all the necessary facilities and security.

In addition, the DPRK has agreed to allow land passage through the Military Demarcation Line from the south. The resumption of tourism to Kaesong, and the operation of the Kaesong Industrial Park, is likewise expected to resume soon.

The DPRK also agreed to allow family reunions to resume on Mt. Kumgang during the Mid-autumn Festival.

Hyundai has been a flagship business partner for the DPRK, having invested millions of dollars in Kaesong and a joint tourism project. Mounting tensions halted the tourism project in July 2008.

Hyun Jung Eun arrived in Pyongyang last Monday to negotiate the release of a Hyundai employee who had been detained for months by the DPRK.

(CCTV August 17, 2009)