ID :
203399
Thu, 08/25/2011 - 07:17
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/203399
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea Threatens to Legally Dispose of S. Korean Assets at Mount Kumgang
NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 172 (August 25, 2011)
*** TOPIC OF THE WEEK (Part 2)
N. Korea Threatens to Legally Dispose of S. Korean Assets at Mount Kumgang
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea said on Aug. 22 that it will legally dispose of hundreds of millions of dollars in South Korean property at its scenic mountain resort, upping the stakes in its bid to jump-start the resort's stalled tourism program and inject foreign tourism dollars into its moribund economy.
South Korea has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in building hotels, restaurants, a golf course and other facilities at the Mount Kumgang resort since 1998 when the North opened it for South Korean tourists, a development seen by many back then as a harbinger of warming inter-Korean relations.
But tour programs to the resort were suspended in July 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean female tourist there, fomenting tensions between the two sides as the North has repeatedly pressured the South to resume the lucrative arrangement.
In its latest move, Pyongyang threatened to dispose of the roughly 484 billion won (US$447 million) worth of assets at the Mount Kumgang resort unless South Korean business representatives visited the resort on the North's east coast to discuss ways to handle their property by Aug. 19.
Since the two sides were unable to reach an agreement by the deadline, North Korea now considers the South Korean authorities to have totally abandoned their property and interests at the resort. It plans to legally dispose of all South Korean properties there including real estate, equipment and vehicles, an unidentified spokesman for the resort's guidance bureau said, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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.
The North stripped Hyundai of its exclusive rights to the tour project and seized all South Korean assets there after it unsuccessfully tried to pressure the South to resume the tour program that once served as a key cash cow for the North.
Starting in late June, a delegation of South Korean government officials and business representatives held two rounds of unsuccessful talks with North Korea. Then, in late July, the North said that the South had three weeks to come to the resort and choose between joining its international tour program or disposing of the assets through a lease, transfer or sale.
Four officials from Hyundai Asan visited the resort on Aug. 19, the deadline set by the North, to try to resolve the dispute, but the North's spokesman said the meeting only proved that the South "has no intention to resume tours of Mount Kumgang and respond to the adjustment of properties but is keen to realize its sinister intention to use noble tourism for the purpose of confrontation."
The North Korean spokesman added that all South Korean materials and property were prohibited from being taken out of the resort starting Aug. 21 at midnight, according to the KCNA dispatch. He also ordered all South Korean personnel at the resort to leave within 72 hours.
"The puppet conservative group is entirely to blame for the situation today when the tours of Mount Kumgang have reached such a deplorable pass, though they had been under way amid the attention of all Koreans and the whole world, and its crimes will be denounced and cursed by them for all ages," the spokesman said, referring to the South Korean government.
Later on Aug. 22, the resort's guidance bureau informed the South Korean government of its plan in a separate message sent to the Unification Ministry. It added that if the South does not follow its orders or damages the assets at the resort, it will respond "sternly according to law."
The warning appears to stem from the North's concerns about damage being done to three Hyundai Asan-operated power generators that supply electricity to the resort.
All 14 South Korean workers at the mountain resort returned home on Aug. 23, one day after the North ordered them to leave.
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.
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.
"It is regrettable that North Korea has broken business contracts and government-level agreements, and decided to carry out unilateral action against our firms' assets and personnel at Mount Kumgang," Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said during a press briefing at the ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs.
Chun reiterated the government's stance that it cannot recognize the North's "unilateral actions" and will hold Pyongyang responsible for the consequences while also vowing to "seek out all necessary measures."
The Seoul government and the state-run Korea Tourism Organization spent some 124 billion won on a reunion center for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, a fire station, a culture center, a hot springs resort and a duty free shop.
North Korea seized all the facilities last year in apparent anger over the suspended tour program, which had served as a major source of hard currency for the cash-strapped regime.
Private South Korean firms, including Hyundai Asan, invested an additional 360 billion won in building hotels, a golf course and other facilities, but the North also froze all these assets last year.
Meanwhile, in an apparent bid to earn hard currency, the North is seeking to run tours linking its northeastern port city of Rajin and Mount Kumgang by ferry, according to sources.
The sources said North Korea is seeking to operate four-day tours in which Chinese people visit the mountain via the Mangyongbong-92, a North Korean ferry, at the port of Rajin.
In a related move, the North is seeking to prepare a test run of trips to the mountain resort by inviting foreign companies and major foreign media outlets to visit, sources said.
According to sources, the test trip offered by the North will run between Aug. 28 to Sept. 2, under which a group of participants will visit Mount Kumgang via ship after departing from the northeastern port city of Rason.
The move is widely seen as an effort by the North to show its willingness to develop the mountain resort.
For decades, the North Korean ferry was the only shuttle linking North Korea and Japan. As the two countries have no diplomatic ties, the vessel was mostly used by pro-North Korean residents in Japan.
The ferry was later used to transport cargo starting in 1984, but Pyongyang's nuclear test in 2006 and a series of missile launches prompted Japan to block the ship's entry.
North Korea is set to use the vessel as a cruise ship for foreign businessmen who will take part in an international trade fair in Rason, a special economic zone on the North's northeastern coast. The fair will run from Monday to Thursday.
(END)
*** TOPIC OF THE WEEK (Part 2)
N. Korea Threatens to Legally Dispose of S. Korean Assets at Mount Kumgang
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea said on Aug. 22 that it will legally dispose of hundreds of millions of dollars in South Korean property at its scenic mountain resort, upping the stakes in its bid to jump-start the resort's stalled tourism program and inject foreign tourism dollars into its moribund economy.
South Korea has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in building hotels, restaurants, a golf course and other facilities at the Mount Kumgang resort since 1998 when the North opened it for South Korean tourists, a development seen by many back then as a harbinger of warming inter-Korean relations.
But tour programs to the resort were suspended in July 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean female tourist there, fomenting tensions between the two sides as the North has repeatedly pressured the South to resume the lucrative arrangement.
In its latest move, Pyongyang threatened to dispose of the roughly 484 billion won (US$447 million) worth of assets at the Mount Kumgang resort unless South Korean business representatives visited the resort on the North's east coast to discuss ways to handle their property by Aug. 19.
Since the two sides were unable to reach an agreement by the deadline, North Korea now considers the South Korean authorities to have totally abandoned their property and interests at the resort. It plans to legally dispose of all South Korean properties there including real estate, equipment and vehicles, an unidentified spokesman for the resort's guidance bureau said, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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.
The North stripped Hyundai of its exclusive rights to the tour project and seized all South Korean assets there after it unsuccessfully tried to pressure the South to resume the tour program that once served as a key cash cow for the North.
Starting in late June, a delegation of South Korean government officials and business representatives held two rounds of unsuccessful talks with North Korea. Then, in late July, the North said that the South had three weeks to come to the resort and choose between joining its international tour program or disposing of the assets through a lease, transfer or sale.
Four officials from Hyundai Asan visited the resort on Aug. 19, the deadline set by the North, to try to resolve the dispute, but the North's spokesman said the meeting only proved that the South "has no intention to resume tours of Mount Kumgang and respond to the adjustment of properties but is keen to realize its sinister intention to use noble tourism for the purpose of confrontation."
The North Korean spokesman added that all South Korean materials and property were prohibited from being taken out of the resort starting Aug. 21 at midnight, according to the KCNA dispatch. He also ordered all South Korean personnel at the resort to leave within 72 hours.
"The puppet conservative group is entirely to blame for the situation today when the tours of Mount Kumgang have reached such a deplorable pass, though they had been under way amid the attention of all Koreans and the whole world, and its crimes will be denounced and cursed by them for all ages," the spokesman said, referring to the South Korean government.
Later on Aug. 22, the resort's guidance bureau informed the South Korean government of its plan in a separate message sent to the Unification Ministry. It added that if the South does not follow its orders or damages the assets at the resort, it will respond "sternly according to law."
The warning appears to stem from the North's concerns about damage being done to three Hyundai Asan-operated power generators that supply electricity to the resort.
All 14 South Korean workers at the mountain resort returned home on Aug. 23, one day after the North ordered them to leave.
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.
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.
"It is regrettable that North Korea has broken business contracts and government-level agreements, and decided to carry out unilateral action against our firms' assets and personnel at Mount Kumgang," Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said during a press briefing at the ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs.
Chun reiterated the government's stance that it cannot recognize the North's "unilateral actions" and will hold Pyongyang responsible for the consequences while also vowing to "seek out all necessary measures."
The Seoul government and the state-run Korea Tourism Organization spent some 124 billion won on a reunion center for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, a fire station, a culture center, a hot springs resort and a duty free shop.
North Korea seized all the facilities last year in apparent anger over the suspended tour program, which had served as a major source of hard currency for the cash-strapped regime.
Private South Korean firms, including Hyundai Asan, invested an additional 360 billion won in building hotels, a golf course and other facilities, but the North also froze all these assets last year.
Meanwhile, in an apparent bid to earn hard currency, the North is seeking to run tours linking its northeastern port city of Rajin and Mount Kumgang by ferry, according to sources.
The sources said North Korea is seeking to operate four-day tours in which Chinese people visit the mountain via the Mangyongbong-92, a North Korean ferry, at the port of Rajin.
In a related move, the North is seeking to prepare a test run of trips to the mountain resort by inviting foreign companies and major foreign media outlets to visit, sources said.
According to sources, the test trip offered by the North will run between Aug. 28 to Sept. 2, under which a group of participants will visit Mount Kumgang via ship after departing from the northeastern port city of Rason.
The move is widely seen as an effort by the North to show its willingness to develop the mountain resort.
For decades, the North Korean ferry was the only shuttle linking North Korea and Japan. As the two countries have no diplomatic ties, the vessel was mostly used by pro-North Korean residents in Japan.
The ferry was later used to transport cargo starting in 1984, but Pyongyang's nuclear test in 2006 and a series of missile launches prompted Japan to block the ship's entry.
North Korea is set to use the vessel as a cruise ship for foreign businessmen who will take part in an international trade fair in Rason, a special economic zone on the North's northeastern coast. The fair will run from Monday to Thursday.
(END)
