The United Nations Command (UNC) said Wednesday it is in talks with South Korea about resuming tours to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas suspended last year in the wake of the African swine fever outbreak.

The US-led command, which administers the DMZ, said it facilitated the environment ministry's survey on African swine fever inside the Joint Security Area and other locations inside the buffer zone Monday.

"These #DMZ sites remain closed to tours, but UNC & ROK officials are in close coordination as we seek to balance resumption of visits and efforts to mitigate the spread of #ASF & #COVID19," the command tweeted.

ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

The unification ministry earlier said the government will resume the tours in June once the region is confirmed safe through a specimen testing in May. (Yonhap)