ID :
192239
Fri, 07/01/2011 - 11:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/192239
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea stands firm against N. Korea's threat over troubled tour project
SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea hinted Friday that it will not allow company officials to visit North Korea this month over their seized assets at a stalled joint tour site in the North.
The move could set the stage for another dispute between the two countries amid lingering tensions over Pyongyang's two deadly attacks on the South last year.
The two Koreas held a rare meeting at a scenic mountain resort in the North on Wednesday to discuss how to handle the assets, though no substantial meeting took place due to procedural differences.
The North has since issued an ultimatum that it will take unspecified legal steps to dispose of the assets at Mount Kumgang unless South Korean company officials visit the resort by July 13 with plans on how to handle their assets estimated to be about 300 billion won (US$278 million).
Seoul should allow its companies to "take active part in readjusting their properties in a reasonable way. Otherwise, the South Korean businesses will suffer losses," a North Korean bureau overseeing the resort said in a statement carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency on Thursday.
However, a South Korean official handling the issue questioned the idea of sending businessmen alone to the North.
"The North's unilateral move would violate inter-Korean deals, international norms and could cause a boomerang effect for the North in its moves to attract investment," the official said.
He also said South Korea could seek international cooperation in case Pyongyang unilaterally disposes of South Korea's assets. He did not elaborate and asked not to be identified, citing policy.
The North's recent moves are widely seen as an escalation of pressure on the South to resume the joint tour program to the mountain resort, which was suspended following the shooting death of a female tourist near the resort in 2008.
The tour program launched in 1998 as part of reconciliation had provided a legitimate source of hard currency for the cash-strapped North.
Last year, the North seized or froze several South Korean assets at the resort in anger over the stalled project. The North has recently announced a law designed to develop the resort as a special zone for international tours.
The move could set the stage for another dispute between the two countries amid lingering tensions over Pyongyang's two deadly attacks on the South last year.
The two Koreas held a rare meeting at a scenic mountain resort in the North on Wednesday to discuss how to handle the assets, though no substantial meeting took place due to procedural differences.
The North has since issued an ultimatum that it will take unspecified legal steps to dispose of the assets at Mount Kumgang unless South Korean company officials visit the resort by July 13 with plans on how to handle their assets estimated to be about 300 billion won (US$278 million).
Seoul should allow its companies to "take active part in readjusting their properties in a reasonable way. Otherwise, the South Korean businesses will suffer losses," a North Korean bureau overseeing the resort said in a statement carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency on Thursday.
However, a South Korean official handling the issue questioned the idea of sending businessmen alone to the North.
"The North's unilateral move would violate inter-Korean deals, international norms and could cause a boomerang effect for the North in its moves to attract investment," the official said.
He also said South Korea could seek international cooperation in case Pyongyang unilaterally disposes of South Korea's assets. He did not elaborate and asked not to be identified, citing policy.
The North's recent moves are widely seen as an escalation of pressure on the South to resume the joint tour program to the mountain resort, which was suspended following the shooting death of a female tourist near the resort in 2008.
The tour program launched in 1998 as part of reconciliation had provided a legitimate source of hard currency for the cash-strapped North.
Last year, the North seized or froze several South Korean assets at the resort in anger over the stalled project. The North has recently announced a law designed to develop the resort as a special zone for international tours.
