ID :
199054
Thu, 08/04/2011 - 06:29
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/199054
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Hyundai officials arrive in N. Korea amid dispute over tour program
(ATTN: RECASTS lead; UPDATES with comment by chairwoman of Hyundai Group in 7th para; TRIMS in paras 8-9)
By Kim Kwang-tae
SEOUL (Yonhap) - About a dozen officials of a South Korean conglomerate arrived at a scenic mountain resort in North Korea to hold a memorial service for their former chairman, an official said Thursday.
Hyundai Asan, the main operator of a stalled tour program to Mount Kumgang, has held a memorial service for former Hyundai Group chairman Chung Mong-hun every year since 2003, when he jumped to his death in Seoul.
A monument in memory of Chung was set up at the mountain resort, which was developed by Hyundai Asan, the group's inter-Korean business arm, in 1998.
The joint tour program was hailed as a key symbol of the fledging reconciliation on the divided peninsula and served as a cash cow for the North.
However, Seoul halted the tour program in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean tourist at the resort.
The North has deprived Hyundai of its exclusive rights to the mountain tour project and seized all South Korean assets there after it unsuccessfully tried to pressure the South to resume the tour program.
Hyun Jeong-eun, who took over the group after her husband's death, said at a separate memorial ceremony near Seoul that her commitment to resuming the tour program remains unchanged, though she has no plan to travel to the North.
Her comment came days after North Korea threatened to dispose of South Korean assets in the coming weeks unless South Korean investors either join the North's new international tour program or lease, transfer or sell their assets during the period.
South Korea has vowed to explore every legal and diplomatic means to protect its property rights and warned the North will be held accountable for all consequences resulting from its disposal of the assets, estimated to be worth about 300 billion won (US$284 million).
Last week, North Korea signed a deal with a New York-based company for tours to the resort, the company president said Wednesday.
Steve Park, the president of Korea Pyongyang Trading U.S.A., said he plans to visit North Korea this weekend or next week to discuss concrete business plans.
Seoul's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said it plans to ascertain the facts regarding the reported deal before determining its reaction.
By Kim Kwang-tae
SEOUL (Yonhap) - About a dozen officials of a South Korean conglomerate arrived at a scenic mountain resort in North Korea to hold a memorial service for their former chairman, an official said Thursday.
Hyundai Asan, the main operator of a stalled tour program to Mount Kumgang, has held a memorial service for former Hyundai Group chairman Chung Mong-hun every year since 2003, when he jumped to his death in Seoul.
A monument in memory of Chung was set up at the mountain resort, which was developed by Hyundai Asan, the group's inter-Korean business arm, in 1998.
The joint tour program was hailed as a key symbol of the fledging reconciliation on the divided peninsula and served as a cash cow for the North.
However, Seoul halted the tour program in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean tourist at the resort.
The North has deprived Hyundai of its exclusive rights to the mountain tour project and seized all South Korean assets there after it unsuccessfully tried to pressure the South to resume the tour program.
Hyun Jeong-eun, who took over the group after her husband's death, said at a separate memorial ceremony near Seoul that her commitment to resuming the tour program remains unchanged, though she has no plan to travel to the North.
Her comment came days after North Korea threatened to dispose of South Korean assets in the coming weeks unless South Korean investors either join the North's new international tour program or lease, transfer or sell their assets during the period.
South Korea has vowed to explore every legal and diplomatic means to protect its property rights and warned the North will be held accountable for all consequences resulting from its disposal of the assets, estimated to be worth about 300 billion won (US$284 million).
Last week, North Korea signed a deal with a New York-based company for tours to the resort, the company president said Wednesday.
Steve Park, the president of Korea Pyongyang Trading U.S.A., said he plans to visit North Korea this weekend or next week to discuss concrete business plans.
Seoul's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said it plans to ascertain the facts regarding the reported deal before determining its reaction.
