Hyundai Asan to launch tours of demilitarized zone in May

SEOUL, April 27 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean company operating joint business
ventures in North Korea said Monday it will launch a tour program in the
demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas.

The new tour program in the 4-kilometer-wide zone that cuts across the Korean
peninsula by Hyundai Asan Corp. comes as the South Korean company feels the pinch
of stalled inter-Korean businesses amid heightening tensions on the peninsula.
Two major tourism projects, a key revenue stream for Hyundai Asan, to the North's
Mt. Geumgang and its border city of Kaesong have been halted since last year.
The new tour, to begin May 2, will consist of one and two-day programs and will
cost 56,000 won (US$41.8) and 118,000 won per person, respectively, Hyundai Asan
said.
The tour program includes visits to the demilitarized zone in the cities of Paju
and Yeoncheon, north of Seoul, and in Yanggu, 175 kilometers northwest of Seoul,
as well as Mt. Sorak, the company said.
Experts say wildlife thrives in the demilitarized zone, which has remained
relatively untouched by humans for more than 50 years. The Korean border is the
world's most heavily armed, with nearly 2 million troops deployed on both sides.
"In the long term, the new tour is expected to become a strategic point when
tours to Mt. Geumgang and Kaesong resume," said an official at Hyundai Asan.
Inter-Korean relations have fallen to their lowest point in recent years. Last
week, Seoul and Pyongyang held their first government contact in over a year but
failed to make a breakthrough.
On Saturday, North Korea said it has begun extracting plutonium from spent fuel
rods at its nuclear plant, further heightening tensions already running high
after its rocket launch early this month.
(END)