Hyundai Asan Corp. said Wednesday it will offer a new cruise package from the southern port city of Busan starting next month.

The 75,000-ton Costa Victoria, which can carry up to 3,000 people, will make the first departure from a port in Busan, some 453 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on July 27 for a five-day round trip to Japan, the tourism company said. 

The ship is equipped with various entertainment facilities, including an outdoor swimming pool, a duty-free shop, restaurants and a fitness center, it said.

Hyundai Asan is the local operator of a suspended inter-Korean tour program, which kicked off in 1998. The program was a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation that attracted some 2 million South Korean visitors.

On July 12, 2008, South Korea suspended tours to Mount Kumgang in the reclusive country after a North Korean soldier shot and killed a female tourist. (Yonhap)