All SKorean personnel ordered to leave Kumgangsan within 72 hours

PYONGYANG, August 22 (Itar-Tass) - A representative of the recently
set up North Korean state bureau for managing the Kumgangsan Tourist
Region (Diamond Mountains) said on Monday that the government of North
Korea will from now on manage the property of South Korean companies in
that resort zone.
He explained that move by "unwillingness of Seoul to settle the issue
of South Korean property in the Diamond Mountains despite repeated offers
by Pyongyang".
Besides, the South Korean personnel are ordered to leave the zone
within 72 hours. On Sunday, a ban was imposed on taking out of Kumgangsan
any materials or property belonging to South Korean companies.
The statement stressed that "the South Korean side that refused to
settle the issue of property in that area within the prescribed time
limit" bears all responsibility for the situation that has developed in
Kumgangsan.
Earlier this year, Pyongyang informed Seoul about a decision of the
North Korean parliament to set up a zone of international tourism in
Kumgangsan. The authorities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK) announced their intention to dissolve the contract with South
Korean Hyundai, which envisaged joint development of tourism in that
region situated in the south-east of the country near the Korean
Demilitarised Zone dividing the Korean peninsula. Pyongyang believes that
Seoul "intentionally blocks trips of South Korean people to Kumgangsan
within the framework of the policy of sanctions against the DPRK".
South Korean representatives stated that they considered the decision
by the North Korean parliament to create a zone of international tourism
in Kumgangsan unlawful and insisted on the implementation of terms of the
contract signed with Hyundai. Otherwise, they promised to make
"corresponding legal and diplomatic steps" to protect the property of
South Korean companies in the Diamond Mountains.
Having failed to convince the government of South Korean to resume
trips by South Koreans, the DPRK froze last April facilities owned by
South Korea in the Diamond Mountains that are considered one of the most
picturesque sites on the peninsula.
The implementation of that lucrative for Pyongyang tourism project was
suspended after an incident in 2008, when a North Korean sentry shot dead
a South Korean female tourist who accidentally walked into a restricted
zone.