S. Korea could resort to int'l arbitration over dispute with N. Korea: paper

SEOUL, July 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea could seek international arbitration in case North Korea disposes of seized South Korean assets at a scenic mountain resort in the isolated country, a research arm of the legislature said Thursday. The two Koreas have been at odds over the assets at Mount Kumgang, the site of stalled joint tour programs that had served as a key cash cow for the North. South Korea could follow in the footsteps of a dispute between foreign oil companies and the Libyan government, the National Assembly Research Service said in a report posted on its Web site. Libya nationalized assets of foreign companies in 1973 and 1974, including the Texaco Overseas Petroleum Company and California Asiatic Oil Company. The two U.S. oil companies took the case to the International Court of Justice, which appointed an arbitrator. The African country did not participate in the arbitration, though it later agreed to settle the arbitration process by providing oil worth US$152 million to the two American oil companies, according to the research arm. The joint tour program between the Koreas stipulates an international dispute settlement procedure, according to the Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs. Still, it's up to the company whether it will resort to the international dispute settlement procedure, a ministry official said. South Korea halted the joint tour programs in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean female tourist at the resort. The move prompted the North last year to seize or freeze several South Korean assets. North Korea has threatened to take unspecified legal actions to dispose of the South Korean assets unless South Korean investors join an international tour program of the resort under its new law. A delegation of South Korean government officials and business representatives has traveled to the resort twice since late June, though no progress was made. No date for another consultation has been set.