ID :
191936
Thu, 06/30/2011 - 07:33
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https://oananews.org//node/191936
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NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 164 (June 30, 2011)
*** TOPIC OF THE WEEK
N. Korea Intensifies Pressure on S. Korea over Suspended Mountain Resort
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- In anger over South Korea's stalling in resuming tours to the North's Mount Kumgang, Pyongyang has been intensifying its threats and pressure on Seoul to resume the joint tour project or settle all the South Korean-owned properties there.
The North has now given the South a final ultimatum while "summoning" South Korean officials and private investors to come to the North's east coast resort to liquidate all the issues.
Under the North's request, 12 South Korean officials and businessmen on June 29 traveled to Mount Kumgang by crossing the heavily fortified military demarcation line to discuss the ownership of South Korean assets seized or frozen by the North.
But the delegation returned home empty-handed without holding even a sit-down conference with North Korean counterparts due to procedural differences.
The South Korean team stayed only three hours there.
North Korean officials tried to negotiate only with South Korean private contractors without the "intervention" of South Korean officials, according to South Korean Unification Ministry officials.
The South Korean delegation consisted of six government officials and six representatives of corporate investors in the Mount Kumgang complex, including Hyundai Asan, the main operator of the joint tour program.
The failed inter-Korean meeting came as Pyongyang threatened to retaliate the South for slandering the North's top leaders by South Korean frontline units.
Analysts said the fate of the troubled tour project, which once served as a key cash cow for the impoverished country, has now plunged in further doubt.
The Unification Ministry officials said South Korea will take steps to protect property rights of South Korean firms estimated to be about 300 billion won (US$278 million).
The two Koreas launched the tour program at scenic Mount Kumgang in 1998 as part of moves to boost reconciliation, but Seoul halted its participation in 2008 after a female South Korean tourist was shot dead after straying into an off-limits military zone near the resort.
Last year, the North seized or froze several South Korean assets at the resort in anger over the stalled project.
On June 28, North Korea issued its ultimatum over the fate of the troubled joint mountain resort, a day before the South Korean officials and businesspeople traveled to the site.
North Korea had demanded South Korea send its officials to the resort at Mount Kumgang by June 30, after threatening to settle South Korean-owned properties there.
"If (South Korea) misses this opportunity, it will permanently lose a chance for consultations with regard to the Mount Kumgang tour project," the North's official Web site Uriminzokkiri said.
South Korea "must admit its responsibility over the suspension of Mount Kumgang tours and show an attitude of sincerity for the disposal of properties," it said.
The Mount Kumgang visit by South Korean officials marked the first official contact since February's inter-Korean military talks, which collapsed after North Korea refused to apologize for its two deadly attacks on the South last year.
South Korean officials said North Korea has to nullify its decision to seize and freeze the South Korean assets. "Our officials are not going over there to resume cross-border tourism but to hear what the North Koreans have to say on this issue," said an official from the Unification Ministry.
Pyongyang claims it has done everything to shed light on the shooting and guarantee the safety of future tourists, but Seoul says it has yet to receive a formal apology for the incident or guarantees to enhance safety.
In anger, North Korea last year seized or froze several South Korean assets at the resort, including two hotels, a duty free shop and a golf range as well as a reunion center for families separated since the 1950-53 Korean War.
There are about 40 businesses involved in Mount Kumgang tourism, with Hyundai Asan being the main contractor. Since 2008, 32 companies have received 10.5 billion won ($9.6 million) in loans from the government due to their struggling businesses in the North, according to the ministry official.
As a result, the majority of the business owners pushed for a South Korean government official to go with them on the trip as a show of support. "It is imperative that we deliver the government's stance in a firm manner," the official said.
Under the threat of North Korean seizure of properties, South Korea has since called on the North to honor inter-Korean deals and not to infringe on property rights of South Korean firms, though it stopped short of taking any immediate action.
The North's asset seizure came amid lingering tensions over Pyongyang's two attacks on the South last year that killed a total of 50 South Koreans.
The North recently threatened not to engage with South Korea anymore and to retaliate against Seoul for anti-Pyongyang psychological warfare.
Also, North Korea has increased pressure on the South in recent years to try to resume the stalled joint tour program in an apparent move to earn hard currency. Pyongyang has since taken steps to try to revitalize the tourist zone.
Earlier this month, the North announced a law designed to develop the resort as a special zone for international tours. The North said the law would allow investors from South Korea or other foreign countries to build a casino, golf course and night club at the mountain resort.
The North said it would also ensure unrestricted access to the Internet for South Koreans and other foreigners at Mount Kumgang during their visa-free trips to the site.
The North announced the package of moves in a law just days after Pyongyang vowed not to engage with Seoul any longer and threatened to attack Seoul for anti-Pyongyang "psychological warfare."
The law also provides foreign investors with preferential conditions for economic activities and grants their remittance of their profits.
The North's announcement came months after Pyongyang unilaterally terminated exclusive tourism rights for Hyundai Asan.
In a statement on April 8, the North informed the South through its state-run Asia-Pacific Peace Committee that it would revoke the monopoly of South Korea's Hyundai Asan over the stalled tourism program at Mount Kumgang.
An unidentified spokesman for the North's committee said North Korea has informed Hyundai it "may end the firm's monopoly rights," adding "patience with the South" on the issue was running out.
The spokesman said Pyongyang would take over Mount Kumgang tourism and may pass the rights to overseas business partners while continuing to allow Hyundai Asan to run them from the South, hinting at the possibility of expanding the scope of tours to earn more foreign currency.
The spokesman for the committee said, "The South Korean authorities are avoiding the resumption of tours of Mount Kumgang not because they are concerned about the personal safety of tourists but because they consider it as part of the sanctions against the DPRK (North Korea) to block the tours."
Since Hyundai's tour program began in 1998, about 1.96 million people participated until they stopped in 2008, and only about 12,000 of them were foreigners, the company said.
Hyundai Asan has so far recorded 357.3 billion won ($333.1 million) in losses since the tours were halted and a little more than a dozen staff are still at the resort for maintenance.
Pyongyang was making more than $30 million a year from the venture before it was shut down, according to government data.
"It has exercised utmost patience for nearly three years," the North's committee continued. "This situation compels the DPRK to opt for exercising its right as the party to the agreement, according to its law and international law."
(END)
N. Korea Intensifies Pressure on S. Korea over Suspended Mountain Resort
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- In anger over South Korea's stalling in resuming tours to the North's Mount Kumgang, Pyongyang has been intensifying its threats and pressure on Seoul to resume the joint tour project or settle all the South Korean-owned properties there.
The North has now given the South a final ultimatum while "summoning" South Korean officials and private investors to come to the North's east coast resort to liquidate all the issues.
Under the North's request, 12 South Korean officials and businessmen on June 29 traveled to Mount Kumgang by crossing the heavily fortified military demarcation line to discuss the ownership of South Korean assets seized or frozen by the North.
But the delegation returned home empty-handed without holding even a sit-down conference with North Korean counterparts due to procedural differences.
The South Korean team stayed only three hours there.
North Korean officials tried to negotiate only with South Korean private contractors without the "intervention" of South Korean officials, according to South Korean Unification Ministry officials.
The South Korean delegation consisted of six government officials and six representatives of corporate investors in the Mount Kumgang complex, including Hyundai Asan, the main operator of the joint tour program.
The failed inter-Korean meeting came as Pyongyang threatened to retaliate the South for slandering the North's top leaders by South Korean frontline units.
Analysts said the fate of the troubled tour project, which once served as a key cash cow for the impoverished country, has now plunged in further doubt.
The Unification Ministry officials said South Korea will take steps to protect property rights of South Korean firms estimated to be about 300 billion won (US$278 million).
The two Koreas launched the tour program at scenic Mount Kumgang in 1998 as part of moves to boost reconciliation, but Seoul halted its participation in 2008 after a female South Korean tourist was shot dead after straying into an off-limits military zone near the resort.
Last year, the North seized or froze several South Korean assets at the resort in anger over the stalled project.
On June 28, North Korea issued its ultimatum over the fate of the troubled joint mountain resort, a day before the South Korean officials and businesspeople traveled to the site.
North Korea had demanded South Korea send its officials to the resort at Mount Kumgang by June 30, after threatening to settle South Korean-owned properties there.
"If (South Korea) misses this opportunity, it will permanently lose a chance for consultations with regard to the Mount Kumgang tour project," the North's official Web site Uriminzokkiri said.
South Korea "must admit its responsibility over the suspension of Mount Kumgang tours and show an attitude of sincerity for the disposal of properties," it said.
The Mount Kumgang visit by South Korean officials marked the first official contact since February's inter-Korean military talks, which collapsed after North Korea refused to apologize for its two deadly attacks on the South last year.
South Korean officials said North Korea has to nullify its decision to seize and freeze the South Korean assets. "Our officials are not going over there to resume cross-border tourism but to hear what the North Koreans have to say on this issue," said an official from the Unification Ministry.
Pyongyang claims it has done everything to shed light on the shooting and guarantee the safety of future tourists, but Seoul says it has yet to receive a formal apology for the incident or guarantees to enhance safety.
In anger, North Korea last year seized or froze several South Korean assets at the resort, including two hotels, a duty free shop and a golf range as well as a reunion center for families separated since the 1950-53 Korean War.
There are about 40 businesses involved in Mount Kumgang tourism, with Hyundai Asan being the main contractor. Since 2008, 32 companies have received 10.5 billion won ($9.6 million) in loans from the government due to their struggling businesses in the North, according to the ministry official.
As a result, the majority of the business owners pushed for a South Korean government official to go with them on the trip as a show of support. "It is imperative that we deliver the government's stance in a firm manner," the official said.
Under the threat of North Korean seizure of properties, South Korea has since called on the North to honor inter-Korean deals and not to infringe on property rights of South Korean firms, though it stopped short of taking any immediate action.
The North's asset seizure came amid lingering tensions over Pyongyang's two attacks on the South last year that killed a total of 50 South Koreans.
The North recently threatened not to engage with South Korea anymore and to retaliate against Seoul for anti-Pyongyang psychological warfare.
Also, North Korea has increased pressure on the South in recent years to try to resume the stalled joint tour program in an apparent move to earn hard currency. Pyongyang has since taken steps to try to revitalize the tourist zone.
Earlier this month, the North announced a law designed to develop the resort as a special zone for international tours. The North said the law would allow investors from South Korea or other foreign countries to build a casino, golf course and night club at the mountain resort.
The North said it would also ensure unrestricted access to the Internet for South Koreans and other foreigners at Mount Kumgang during their visa-free trips to the site.
The North announced the package of moves in a law just days after Pyongyang vowed not to engage with Seoul any longer and threatened to attack Seoul for anti-Pyongyang "psychological warfare."
The law also provides foreign investors with preferential conditions for economic activities and grants their remittance of their profits.
The North's announcement came months after Pyongyang unilaterally terminated exclusive tourism rights for Hyundai Asan.
In a statement on April 8, the North informed the South through its state-run Asia-Pacific Peace Committee that it would revoke the monopoly of South Korea's Hyundai Asan over the stalled tourism program at Mount Kumgang.
An unidentified spokesman for the North's committee said North Korea has informed Hyundai it "may end the firm's monopoly rights," adding "patience with the South" on the issue was running out.
The spokesman said Pyongyang would take over Mount Kumgang tourism and may pass the rights to overseas business partners while continuing to allow Hyundai Asan to run them from the South, hinting at the possibility of expanding the scope of tours to earn more foreign currency.
The spokesman for the committee said, "The South Korean authorities are avoiding the resumption of tours of Mount Kumgang not because they are concerned about the personal safety of tourists but because they consider it as part of the sanctions against the DPRK (North Korea) to block the tours."
Since Hyundai's tour program began in 1998, about 1.96 million people participated until they stopped in 2008, and only about 12,000 of them were foreigners, the company said.
Hyundai Asan has so far recorded 357.3 billion won ($333.1 million) in losses since the tours were halted and a little more than a dozen staff are still at the resort for maintenance.
Pyongyang was making more than $30 million a year from the venture before it was shut down, according to government data.
"It has exercised utmost patience for nearly three years," the North's committee continued. "This situation compels the DPRK to opt for exercising its right as the party to the agreement, according to its law and international law."
(END)
