ID :
202981
Tue, 08/23/2011 - 12:55
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/202981
The shortlink copeid
S. Korean workers return from N.K. mountain resort
SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) -- All 14 South Korean workers at a North Korean mountain resort returned home Tuesday, one day after the North ordered them to leave due to a dispute over South Korean assets at the site.
The South Koreans, along with two ethnic Korean workers of Chinese nationality, arrived via the customs, immigration and quarantine office near the inter-Korean border on the east coast. North Korea ordered the South Koreans on Monday to leave within 72 hours and vowed to legally dispose of all South Korean property at the scenic Mount Kumgang resort. It also banned the transfer of all South Korean materials and property out of the resort.
The move followed a series of talks between the sides to resolve an ongoing dispute over assets worth some 484 billion won (US$447 million).
Seoul suspended its tour programs at the resort in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean female tourist there. Pyongyang has since frozen or seized South Korean property at the resort and unilaterally terminated exclusive tourism rights for Hyundai Asan, a key South Korean tour operator at the resort. It has also demanded South Korean firms choose between joining an international tour program for the resort, which is yet to be launched, and disposing of the assets through a lease, transfer or sale.
"I hope to see the day when tours to Mount Kumgang are resumed and our staff can work together again," said Lee Hyeong-gyun, an official of Hyundai Asan, who was among the returnees.
Seoul has vowed to take all necessary measures, including legal and diplomatic steps, and warned that the North will be held accountable for all consequences resulting from its disposal of the assets.
South Korea's public and private sectors have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in building hotels, restaurants and a golf course at the resort since 1998 when the North opened it for South Korean tourists. The inter-Korean project was hailed as a symbol of reconciliation and served as a major source of hard currency for the cash-strapped regime. The two Koreas remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
hague@yna.co.kr
The South Koreans, along with two ethnic Korean workers of Chinese nationality, arrived via the customs, immigration and quarantine office near the inter-Korean border on the east coast. North Korea ordered the South Koreans on Monday to leave within 72 hours and vowed to legally dispose of all South Korean property at the scenic Mount Kumgang resort. It also banned the transfer of all South Korean materials and property out of the resort.
The move followed a series of talks between the sides to resolve an ongoing dispute over assets worth some 484 billion won (US$447 million).
Seoul suspended its tour programs at the resort in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean female tourist there. Pyongyang has since frozen or seized South Korean property at the resort and unilaterally terminated exclusive tourism rights for Hyundai Asan, a key South Korean tour operator at the resort. It has also demanded South Korean firms choose between joining an international tour program for the resort, which is yet to be launched, and disposing of the assets through a lease, transfer or sale.
"I hope to see the day when tours to Mount Kumgang are resumed and our staff can work together again," said Lee Hyeong-gyun, an official of Hyundai Asan, who was among the returnees.
Seoul has vowed to take all necessary measures, including legal and diplomatic steps, and warned that the North will be held accountable for all consequences resulting from its disposal of the assets.
South Korea's public and private sectors have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in building hotels, restaurants and a golf course at the resort since 1998 when the North opened it for South Korean tourists. The inter-Korean project was hailed as a symbol of reconciliation and served as a major source of hard currency for the cash-strapped regime. The two Koreas remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
hague@yna.co.kr
