Unification Minister Lee In-young called Monday for efforts to restart a long-suspended project to compile a unified Korean-language dictionary with North Korea, saying it will be a "firm step" toward unification.

Lee made the remarks during his virtual speech at a forum on the inter-Korean project, urging for the early resumption of the project on the publication of a common Korean-language dictionary that began in 2005 as part of efforts to overcome language barriers between the two Koreas.

"We hope for the opening of the 26th inter-Korean meeting on the 'Gyeoreomal-keunsajeon' and the early resumption and completion of the project that is currently at 81 percent," Lee said.

"Gyeoreomal-keunsajeon" refers to the inter-Korean dictionary.

Lee called the project a "small yet firm step" toward achieving unification and vowed to seek various inter-Korean projects in the fields of culture, history and sports.

Since the project began, the two sides have held 25 rounds of meetings with scholars, but the program was suspended in 2010 after the North's torpedo attack on the South Korean naval ship Cheonan. After resuming in 2014, the project was halted again in late 2015 amid heightened inter-Korean tensions. (Yonhap)