South Korea would continue its economic cooperation with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) despite US opposition, said a senior government official yesterday.

"We will heed the demands from the international community in seeking to change operational methods for the Mount Geumgang (tourism) and Kaesong industrial complex projects," said Song Min-soon, chief presidential secretary for security, "but the government has never expressed an intention to shut down the Kaesong and Geumgang projects."

Song's remarks came one day after U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said that the Mount Geumgang tourism project "seems to be designed to give money" to the DPRK authorities.

Hill arrived in Seoul on Tuesday to fine-tune the agenda for talks between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon set for Thursday. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso will also join them.

Kim Geun-tae, chairman of the ruling Uri Party, said Wednesday that the inter-Korean projects are not "simple exchange programs, but symbols of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and a safety device for peace."

"For the U.S., money being sent via the Mount Geumgang project and the Kaesong complex is important. But for us, what is important is that the two Koreas meet and make exchanges," Kim said at a party meeting.

According to South Korea's Unification Ministry, some 40,000 South Koreans travel to the scenic mountain resort in DPRK and pay about 1 million U.S. dollars in admission fees each month. In the Inter-Korean Industrial Complex in the DPRK's border city of Kaesong, 15 South Korean companies pay about 600,000 U.S. dollars a month in wages for their 8,900 DPRK employees there.

Following DPRK's announcement of conducting a nuclear test on Oct.9, the South Korean government faced strong calls both from the opposition parties and abroad to adjust its policy towards DPRK, especially in terms of its inter-Korean economic cooperation.