ID :
82292
Tue, 09/29/2009 - 16:12
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/82292
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea separates decision on N.K. tour resumption from nuclear dispute
SOKCHO, South Korea, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will decide whether to resume cross-border tourism into North Korea regardless of the status of Pyongyang's denuclearization, a top official in Seoul said Tuesday, indicating flexibility in reviving the suspended project.
Vice Unification Minister Hong Yang-ho made the remarks as the Koreas were
holding reunions for separated families at the North's Mount Kumgang resort for
the first time in nearly two years, a major sign of improving relations.
"The North Korean nuclear issue is not connected to the issue of whether to
resume the Mount Kumgang tour program," Hong told pool reporters in this eastern
seaside town, where families gathered on their way to reunions in the North.
Hong's remarks suggested Seoul may be taking a step closer toward restarting
Mount Kumgang tours, a profitable venture for the North that came to a halt in
July last year after a South Korean woman was shot to death by a North Korean
soldier.
Had Seoul placed the issue within the multilateral nuclear context, a solution
would be a more distant prospect.
North Korea has been nudging the South to resume the tour program in return for
agreeing last month to hold the family reunions. South Korea's Red Cross chief
Yoo Chong-ha, who met with his North Korean counterpart on the sidelines of the
reunions over the weekend, said he was asked whether "the South would reciprocate
its good will." The question appeared to be a reference to humanitarian aid and
other policy favors, Yoo said.
The vice minister said, "The issue of the Mount Kumgang tours is an ordinary
issue between the South and the North. If we connect even this to the nuclear
dispute, it would be no different than saying no to all inter-Korean exchanges."
Hong reiterated Seoul's conditions for the tour resumption, which include the
North's official apology, a safety guarantee and a promise that an incident like
the shooting death would not recur.
"Our government has consistently expressed its position in the parliament and
media interviews that it wants to resume the tour, and the North has rejected (to
meet the conditions). Now is the time for the North to respond," he added.
Hong also said Seoul has no plan to resume rice and fertilizer aid to the North,
which it suspended last year, in return for the family reunions.
South Korean tourist Park Wang-ja was shot dead by a North Korean soldier after
straying into an off-limits military zone. The North immediately expressed
"regrets" but refused to allow South Korean investigators to survey the site.
The tour program, run by South Korea's Hyundai Asan Corp., has been a cash cow
for the impoverished North, which is now under financial and other sanctions
imposed by the U.N after its nuclear test in May. According to data from Hyundai
Asan, the firm has paid North Korea a total of US$487 million in tour fees since
it launched the program in 1998. Hyundai has spent an additional $714 million to
build the resort and facilities.
More than 1.9 million South Koreans have visited the Mount Kumgang resort.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
Vice Unification Minister Hong Yang-ho made the remarks as the Koreas were
holding reunions for separated families at the North's Mount Kumgang resort for
the first time in nearly two years, a major sign of improving relations.
"The North Korean nuclear issue is not connected to the issue of whether to
resume the Mount Kumgang tour program," Hong told pool reporters in this eastern
seaside town, where families gathered on their way to reunions in the North.
Hong's remarks suggested Seoul may be taking a step closer toward restarting
Mount Kumgang tours, a profitable venture for the North that came to a halt in
July last year after a South Korean woman was shot to death by a North Korean
soldier.
Had Seoul placed the issue within the multilateral nuclear context, a solution
would be a more distant prospect.
North Korea has been nudging the South to resume the tour program in return for
agreeing last month to hold the family reunions. South Korea's Red Cross chief
Yoo Chong-ha, who met with his North Korean counterpart on the sidelines of the
reunions over the weekend, said he was asked whether "the South would reciprocate
its good will." The question appeared to be a reference to humanitarian aid and
other policy favors, Yoo said.
The vice minister said, "The issue of the Mount Kumgang tours is an ordinary
issue between the South and the North. If we connect even this to the nuclear
dispute, it would be no different than saying no to all inter-Korean exchanges."
Hong reiterated Seoul's conditions for the tour resumption, which include the
North's official apology, a safety guarantee and a promise that an incident like
the shooting death would not recur.
"Our government has consistently expressed its position in the parliament and
media interviews that it wants to resume the tour, and the North has rejected (to
meet the conditions). Now is the time for the North to respond," he added.
Hong also said Seoul has no plan to resume rice and fertilizer aid to the North,
which it suspended last year, in return for the family reunions.
South Korean tourist Park Wang-ja was shot dead by a North Korean soldier after
straying into an off-limits military zone. The North immediately expressed
"regrets" but refused to allow South Korean investigators to survey the site.
The tour program, run by South Korea's Hyundai Asan Corp., has been a cash cow
for the impoverished North, which is now under financial and other sanctions
imposed by the U.N after its nuclear test in May. According to data from Hyundai
Asan, the firm has paid North Korea a total of US$487 million in tour fees since
it launched the program in 1998. Hyundai has spent an additional $714 million to
build the resort and facilities.
More than 1.9 million South Koreans have visited the Mount Kumgang resort.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
