ID :
194858
Wed, 07/13/2011 - 14:59
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/194858
The shortlink copeid
Koreas end crucial meeting without breakthrough
(3rd LD) SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- South and North Korea failed to make progress in their second meeting on the fate of seized South Korean assets at a scenic mountain resort in the isolated North, an official said Wednesday.
The development is likely to further strain relations between the two countries amid lingering tensions over Pyongyang's two deadly attacks on the South last year.
The meeting came amid Pyongyang's threat to dispose of the assets unless South Korean investors join an international tour program of Mount Kumgang under a new North Korean law.
North Korean officials said their country will carry out the threat unless South Korea contacts the North by July 29 for another consultation, the South Korean official said.
South Korea will review the North's proposal for consultation, the official said.
He said South Korean officials told the North not to take any unilateral action to dispose of the assets, noting the North's new law violates inter-Korean deals and infringes on property rights of South Korean investors.
South Korea has invested tens of millions of dollars in hotels, restaurants and a golf course at the resort since 1998 when the North opened it for South Korean tourists.
However, Seoul halted the joint tour program in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean female tourist at the resort.
Last year, the North seized or froze several South Korean assets at the resort in apparent anger over the stalled project that had served as a key cash cow for the impoverished country.
Earlier this year, the North unilaterally terminated exclusive tourism rights for Hyundai Asan, a key South Korean tour operator at the resort. However, it later announced a law designed to develop the resort as a special zone for international tours.
The development is likely to further strain relations between the two countries amid lingering tensions over Pyongyang's two deadly attacks on the South last year.
The meeting came amid Pyongyang's threat to dispose of the assets unless South Korean investors join an international tour program of Mount Kumgang under a new North Korean law.
North Korean officials said their country will carry out the threat unless South Korea contacts the North by July 29 for another consultation, the South Korean official said.
South Korea will review the North's proposal for consultation, the official said.
He said South Korean officials told the North not to take any unilateral action to dispose of the assets, noting the North's new law violates inter-Korean deals and infringes on property rights of South Korean investors.
South Korea has invested tens of millions of dollars in hotels, restaurants and a golf course at the resort since 1998 when the North opened it for South Korean tourists.
However, Seoul halted the joint tour program in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean female tourist at the resort.
Last year, the North seized or froze several South Korean assets at the resort in apparent anger over the stalled project that had served as a key cash cow for the impoverished country.
Earlier this year, the North unilaterally terminated exclusive tourism rights for Hyundai Asan, a key South Korean tour operator at the resort. However, it later announced a law designed to develop the resort as a special zone for international tours.
