ID :
200560
Thu, 08/11/2011 - 05:55
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https://oananews.org//node/200560
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North Korea Concentrates on Attracting More Foreign Tourists
NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 170 (August 11, 2011)
*** TOPIC OF THE WEEK (Part 1)
???? SEOUL (Yonhap) -- In a steady yet aggressive manner, cash-strapped North Korea has been expanding its tourism industry by attracting as many foreign tourists as possible in an apparent bid to earn much-needed hard currency.
???? The North's move to attract foreign tourists comes amid a dispute with South Korea over their stalled joint tour program at Mount Kumgang, a scenic resort on the North's east coast.
???? North Korea has recently signed a deal with a New York-based company for tours to the mountain resort, according to the company president.
???? Mount Kumgang is not the only tourist spot in the socialist country. The North has been expanding its tours to other areas such as its capital Pyongyang and other major cities as well as the Demilitarized Zone that bisects the Korean Peninsula.
???? Chinese are the major foreign tourists to the isolated country, but the number of other foreigners is reportedly on the increase.
???? North Korea said on Aug. 9 it would open an air route to Malaysia on Aug. 19. Service between Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur will mark the start of a tourism program in the North for Malaysians, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief dispatch, without elaborating.
???? The development comes weeks after Pyongyang launched a tourism program for the Chinese by opening air routes with China's economic powerhouse of Shanghai and the ancient city of Xian.
???? The North has allowed tourists from Shanghai to visit the country without a visa, the KCNA dispatch said, adding Pyongyang has taken a series of steps to simplify immigration procedures for tourists.
???? Many Chinese from Shanghai have toured scenic spots and monuments in the North since July 1, the dispatch said, without giving figures.
???? In July, the KCNA quoted a top North Korean travel company official as saying that an increasing number of Chinese could visit the North for sightseeing at the Mount Kumgang resort and other tourist attractions.
???? On July 1, Chinese tourists from Shanghai arrived in Pyongyang using a new flight route between Shanghai and Pyongyang for the first time, North Korea's media said.
???? Their trip, using a route launched by North Korea's Air Koryo in July, came weeks after the North announced a law designed to develop Mount Kumgang as a special zone for international tours.
???? In an indication that the North will try to attract Chinese tourists to the mountain resort, the KCNA said the tourist group was led by a senior official of the Communist Party of China handling tourism on the scenic mountain.
???? The Chinese tourists from Shanghai visited monuments in Pyongyang, the border village of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas and the mountain resort on the east coast, the KCNA said.
???? North Korea has also expanded flight service to China. Air Koryo, North Korea's flagship airline, has added flights to its regular service between Pyongyang and the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang, sources familiar with the North said on Aug. 9.
???? Air Koryo has been known to fly between the two cities once every Wednesday and Saturday, but it now operates two flights on each of those days, according to an aid group official who traveled to the North Korean capital from Shenyang last week.
???? The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he spotted many Chinese and other foreigners at his hotel in Pyongyang and across the city.
???? "It appears that the number of flights between Shenyang and Pyongyang was increased because of the Arirang Festival, which started on Aug. 1," the official said.
???? The festival, named after a famous Korean folk song, has been held almost annually since 2002, when it debuted to celebrate the 90th birthday of North Korea's late founder, Kim Il-sung. It is believed to be the largest gymnastics show in the world, with synchronized acrobatics, dances and flip-card mosaic animations.
???? Another aid group official who traveled to Pyongyang on the same route two months ago said there were no additional flights in place at the time, adding that such "temporary expansions" were not unusual during peak seasons for visitors.
???? Other North Korea watchers, however, said the new flights may be a permanent measure aimed at facilitating growing economic ties between the communist allies.
???? "It may be a measure to accommodate a growing number of Chinese people traveling to Pyongyang (on business), as the two nations are known to be actively taking part in economic cooperation," said a North Korea expert, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
???? Cho Bong-hyun, a researcher at the IBK Economic Research Institute, said he confirmed the expansion of the flight service, although he could not be sure whether it was permanent.
???? "It seems that the number of flights was increased due to the Arirang Festival and the larger number of Chinese people traveling to North Korea for joint economic projects," he said. The festival is set to run until Sept. 9.
???? In another type of tourism business, North Korea appears likely to use a ferry to try to attract foreign tourists, a source said on Aug. 5.
???? For decades, the Mangyongbong-92 served as the only shuttle between North Korea and Japan, which have no diplomatic relations, and was mostly used by pro-North Korean residents in Japan.
???? The 9,700-ton ship was later used to transport cargo before Tokyo blocked its entry as part of economic sanctions over Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests in 2006.
???? The ferry has also been suspected of being used for trafficking drugs, counterfeit money and other contraband goods.
???? North Korea is now preparing to use the vessel as a cruise ship for foreign business leaders from China and other countries during an upcoming international fair in Rason, the country's special economic zone near China and Russia, the source said.
???? The North plans to use the ship to take the investors on a sightseeing trip in waters off the economic zone at the end of the international fair later this month.
???? The move is widely seen as the North's attempt to use the ship for its tourism projects.
???? The North designated Rason as a special economic zone in 1991 and has since striven to develop it into a regional transportation hub, though no major progress has been made.
???? In June, North Korea and China broke ground on a joint project to develop Rason as an economic and trade zone.
???? While the joint program at Mount Kumgang has been stalled for three years, North Korea has 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.
???? The assets under threat of disposal are estimated to be worth 300 billion won (US$278 million). South Korea has vowed to protect the property rights of its firms.
???? As to the envisioned tour to Mount Kumgang by New York-based firm Korea Pyongyang Trading U.S.A., South Korean officials say that the North Korean tour deal needs approval from Washington.
???? A Seoul official said U.S. Executive Order 13570, which took effect in April, prohibits the importation into the United States, directly or indirectly, of any goods, services or technology from North Korea.
???? The U.S. company, headed by a Korean-American businessman, has yet to file an application with the U.S. government for approval of its proposed tour project in the North, the official said on the condition of anonymity, citing office policy.
???? U.S. State Department officials in Washington were not immediately available for comment.
???? The comments by the South Korean official came days after the New York firm signed a memorandum of understanding with the North on the tour program.
???? South and North Korea launched the joint tour program in 1998 as a key symbol of the fledging reconciliation on the divided peninsula.
???? The cross-border program had served as a cash cow for the North before Seoul halted it in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean tourist at the resort.
???? Earlier this year, the North announced a law designed to develop the resort as a special zone for international tours after unilaterally terminating exclusive tourism rights for Hyundai Asan, a key South Korean tour operator at the resort.
*** TOPIC OF THE WEEK (Part 1)
???? SEOUL (Yonhap) -- In a steady yet aggressive manner, cash-strapped North Korea has been expanding its tourism industry by attracting as many foreign tourists as possible in an apparent bid to earn much-needed hard currency.
???? The North's move to attract foreign tourists comes amid a dispute with South Korea over their stalled joint tour program at Mount Kumgang, a scenic resort on the North's east coast.
???? North Korea has recently signed a deal with a New York-based company for tours to the mountain resort, according to the company president.
???? Mount Kumgang is not the only tourist spot in the socialist country. The North has been expanding its tours to other areas such as its capital Pyongyang and other major cities as well as the Demilitarized Zone that bisects the Korean Peninsula.
???? Chinese are the major foreign tourists to the isolated country, but the number of other foreigners is reportedly on the increase.
???? North Korea said on Aug. 9 it would open an air route to Malaysia on Aug. 19. Service between Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur will mark the start of a tourism program in the North for Malaysians, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief dispatch, without elaborating.
???? The development comes weeks after Pyongyang launched a tourism program for the Chinese by opening air routes with China's economic powerhouse of Shanghai and the ancient city of Xian.
???? The North has allowed tourists from Shanghai to visit the country without a visa, the KCNA dispatch said, adding Pyongyang has taken a series of steps to simplify immigration procedures for tourists.
???? Many Chinese from Shanghai have toured scenic spots and monuments in the North since July 1, the dispatch said, without giving figures.
???? In July, the KCNA quoted a top North Korean travel company official as saying that an increasing number of Chinese could visit the North for sightseeing at the Mount Kumgang resort and other tourist attractions.
???? On July 1, Chinese tourists from Shanghai arrived in Pyongyang using a new flight route between Shanghai and Pyongyang for the first time, North Korea's media said.
???? Their trip, using a route launched by North Korea's Air Koryo in July, came weeks after the North announced a law designed to develop Mount Kumgang as a special zone for international tours.
???? In an indication that the North will try to attract Chinese tourists to the mountain resort, the KCNA said the tourist group was led by a senior official of the Communist Party of China handling tourism on the scenic mountain.
???? The Chinese tourists from Shanghai visited monuments in Pyongyang, the border village of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas and the mountain resort on the east coast, the KCNA said.
???? North Korea has also expanded flight service to China. Air Koryo, North Korea's flagship airline, has added flights to its regular service between Pyongyang and the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang, sources familiar with the North said on Aug. 9.
???? Air Koryo has been known to fly between the two cities once every Wednesday and Saturday, but it now operates two flights on each of those days, according to an aid group official who traveled to the North Korean capital from Shenyang last week.
???? The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he spotted many Chinese and other foreigners at his hotel in Pyongyang and across the city.
???? "It appears that the number of flights between Shenyang and Pyongyang was increased because of the Arirang Festival, which started on Aug. 1," the official said.
???? The festival, named after a famous Korean folk song, has been held almost annually since 2002, when it debuted to celebrate the 90th birthday of North Korea's late founder, Kim Il-sung. It is believed to be the largest gymnastics show in the world, with synchronized acrobatics, dances and flip-card mosaic animations.
???? Another aid group official who traveled to Pyongyang on the same route two months ago said there were no additional flights in place at the time, adding that such "temporary expansions" were not unusual during peak seasons for visitors.
???? Other North Korea watchers, however, said the new flights may be a permanent measure aimed at facilitating growing economic ties between the communist allies.
???? "It may be a measure to accommodate a growing number of Chinese people traveling to Pyongyang (on business), as the two nations are known to be actively taking part in economic cooperation," said a North Korea expert, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
???? Cho Bong-hyun, a researcher at the IBK Economic Research Institute, said he confirmed the expansion of the flight service, although he could not be sure whether it was permanent.
???? "It seems that the number of flights was increased due to the Arirang Festival and the larger number of Chinese people traveling to North Korea for joint economic projects," he said. The festival is set to run until Sept. 9.
???? In another type of tourism business, North Korea appears likely to use a ferry to try to attract foreign tourists, a source said on Aug. 5.
???? For decades, the Mangyongbong-92 served as the only shuttle between North Korea and Japan, which have no diplomatic relations, and was mostly used by pro-North Korean residents in Japan.
???? The 9,700-ton ship was later used to transport cargo before Tokyo blocked its entry as part of economic sanctions over Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests in 2006.
???? The ferry has also been suspected of being used for trafficking drugs, counterfeit money and other contraband goods.
???? North Korea is now preparing to use the vessel as a cruise ship for foreign business leaders from China and other countries during an upcoming international fair in Rason, the country's special economic zone near China and Russia, the source said.
???? The North plans to use the ship to take the investors on a sightseeing trip in waters off the economic zone at the end of the international fair later this month.
???? The move is widely seen as the North's attempt to use the ship for its tourism projects.
???? The North designated Rason as a special economic zone in 1991 and has since striven to develop it into a regional transportation hub, though no major progress has been made.
???? In June, North Korea and China broke ground on a joint project to develop Rason as an economic and trade zone.
???? While the joint program at Mount Kumgang has been stalled for three years, North Korea has 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.
???? The assets under threat of disposal are estimated to be worth 300 billion won (US$278 million). South Korea has vowed to protect the property rights of its firms.
???? As to the envisioned tour to Mount Kumgang by New York-based firm Korea Pyongyang Trading U.S.A., South Korean officials say that the North Korean tour deal needs approval from Washington.
???? A Seoul official said U.S. Executive Order 13570, which took effect in April, prohibits the importation into the United States, directly or indirectly, of any goods, services or technology from North Korea.
???? The U.S. company, headed by a Korean-American businessman, has yet to file an application with the U.S. government for approval of its proposed tour project in the North, the official said on the condition of anonymity, citing office policy.
???? U.S. State Department officials in Washington were not immediately available for comment.
???? The comments by the South Korean official came days after the New York firm signed a memorandum of understanding with the North on the tour program.
???? South and North Korea launched the joint tour program in 1998 as a key symbol of the fledging reconciliation on the divided peninsula.
???? The cross-border program had served as a cash cow for the North before Seoul halted it in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean tourist at the resort.
???? Earlier this year, the North announced a law designed to develop the resort as a special zone for international tours after unilaterally terminating exclusive tourism rights for Hyundai Asan, a key South Korean tour operator at the resort.
