ID :
193071
Tue, 07/05/2011 - 18:35
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/193071
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N. Korea invited S. Korean businessman for visit: source
SEOUL, July 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea invited for a visit a former vice chairman of Hyundai Asan, a key South Korean operator of a troubled joint tour project in the North, a government official said Tuesday, but the reason for the invitation was not immediately known.
North Korea asked Kim Yoon-kyu, currently the chairman of trading firm Acheon Global Corp., to make a visit to the communist country, the government source said.
Founded by Kim, Acheon was involved in trading and other joint economic programs with North Korea until inter-Korean trade was suspended in May last year.
Kim has yet to file an application to travel to North Korea, the source added.
The official played down the possibility that the businessman could play a role in resuming the stalled joint tour project at Mount Kumgang, which was suspended following the shooting death of a female tourist near the resort in 2008.
The North has since issued an ultimatum that it will take unspecified legal steps to dispose of the assets at Mount Kumgang unless South Korean company officials visit the resort by July 13 with plans on how to handle their assets, which are estimated to be worth about 300 billion won (US$278 million).
Recent talks between the two Koreas over how to handle the seized assets at the stalled joint tour site made little progress amid lingering inter-Korean tension after Pyongyang's two deadly attacks on the South last year.
The tour program, which launched in 1998 as part of reconciliation efforts, had provided a legitimate source of hard currency for the cash-strapped North.
Last year, the North seized or froze several South Korean assets at the resort in anger over the stalled project. The North has recently announced a law designed to develop the resort as a special zone for international tours.
North Korea asked Kim Yoon-kyu, currently the chairman of trading firm Acheon Global Corp., to make a visit to the communist country, the government source said.
Founded by Kim, Acheon was involved in trading and other joint economic programs with North Korea until inter-Korean trade was suspended in May last year.
Kim has yet to file an application to travel to North Korea, the source added.
The official played down the possibility that the businessman could play a role in resuming the stalled joint tour project at Mount Kumgang, which was suspended following the shooting death of a female tourist near the resort in 2008.
The North has since issued an ultimatum that it will take unspecified legal steps to dispose of the assets at Mount Kumgang unless South Korean company officials visit the resort by July 13 with plans on how to handle their assets, which are estimated to be worth about 300 billion won (US$278 million).
Recent talks between the two Koreas over how to handle the seized assets at the stalled joint tour site made little progress amid lingering inter-Korean tension after Pyongyang's two deadly attacks on the South last year.
The tour program, which launched in 1998 as part of reconciliation efforts, had provided a legitimate source of hard currency for the cash-strapped North.
Last year, the North seized or froze several South Korean assets at the resort in anger over the stalled project. The North has recently announced a law designed to develop the resort as a special zone for international tours.
