The unification ministry is looking into speculation that a state-run port operator has secretly pushed to invest in North Korea despite global sanctions, a ministry official said Tuesday.

Opposition lawmaker Rep. Kwon Seong-dong raised the possibility that the Busan Port Authority is pushing for cooperation with a Chinese firm in investing in the North's northeastern port town of Rajin.

He made the claim based on a document obtained from the state-run firm that controls terminals in the country's southeastern port city of Busan.

"There was a discussion (with the unification ministry) at an elementary level in the early stages of the plan," a unification ministry official said. "We are contacting the business operator to confirm how things have progressed ever since."

According to the lawmaker, the Busan Port Authority tentatively agreed with the Chinese firm to cooperate in developing the North Korean port.

The Chinese firm is believed to have secured the right to manage the port near the North's border with China for 49 years in 2018.

Such investment in North Korea, however, could be in violation of global sanctions adopted in retaliation of Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests.

The Busan Port Authority reportedly admitted it had discussed the possibility of the investment in case sanctions are lifted with the Chinese firm but denied it has signed any deal to push ahead with the plan. (Yonhap)