Suspended tours to N. Korea cost US$65 mln, Hyundai Asan says

SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean company operating all joint projects
with North Korea said Monday a suspended sightseeing program to the North's
mountain resort has cost about 100 billion won (US$65.1 million) in lost sales.
The South Korean government halted tours to Mount Kumgang on the North's east
coast on July 11 last year after a South Korean woman was fatally shot by a North
Korean soldier at a restricted military area near the resort.
The shooting further frayed already troubled ties between the two Koreas.
Chang Hwan-bin, a senior executive at Hyundai Asan Corp., which runs the tour
program, said the tour is unlikely to resume anytime soon.
"We have in mind that the resumption (of the tour program) will be further
delayed," Chang said.
Inter-Korean relations have significantly chilled since South Korean President
Lee Myung-bak took office in February last year with a tougher stance on North
Korea. He has halted unconditional food aid to the North, linking it to
Pyongyang's denuclearization.
Recently, Pyongyang has stepped up its harsh rhetoric against Seoul amid fears
North Korea is preparing to test-fire its longest-range missile, the Taepodong-2.
The North has refuted such suspicions, claiming it is getting ready to launch a
communications satellite into orbit.
Pyongyang said through its state-run Korean Central News Agency early Monday
morning that it will retaliate against any attempt to shoot down the supposed
satellite, saying doing so "will precisely mean a war."
The North's recent saber-rattling is both a retaliatory move against Seoul's
hard-line policy towards Pyongyang and an attempt to increase leverage before
U.S. President Barack Obama finalizes his policy on the communist state, analysts
say.
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