ID :
90412
Wed, 11/18/2009 - 19:54
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/90412
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea rules out imminent resumption of North Korea tour
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea reasserted Wednesday that it has no
intention yet of reopening a Hyundai-operated tour to North Korea, as the
deficit-laden company quietly marked the 11th anniversary of the suspended
mountain tour program.
North Korea, pressured by U.N. financial sanctions over its nuclear and missile
tests, has repeatedly called for the resumption of the lucrative tours to Mount
Kumgang, which South Korea suspended last year after a shooting death of a
tourist.
"At an appropriate time and when the climate of inter-Korean relations and other
conditions are ripe, I believe there will naturally be consultations between the
South and the North over the issue," Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung
said in a press briefing.
"But at this moment, I'd like to clarify again, we don't have any specific plans
to hold talks to resume the tour or to propose such talks."
The tour suspension would further frustrate not only North Korea but also the
South Korean tour operator, Hyundai Asan Corp., which reports a 203 billion won
(US$176 million) loss from it. Despite drastic restructuring this year that cut
back the company's workforce to less than half from 1,000 and Hyundai Group
chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun's high-profile meeting with North Korean leader Kim
Jong-il in August, Hyundai Asan's fate hangs by a thread on the mounting
deficits.
"We've now reached the end of the long tunnel. We'll make our best efforts to
ensure good news comes within this year," Cho Kun-shik, chief of Hyundai Asan,
said in a small ceremony held at Mount Kumgang to mark the 11th anniversary of
the start of the tour. The group chairwoman, Hyun, also attended the event.
Tours to Mount Kumgang, historically well-known for its picturesque beauty on
North Korea's southeast coast, began in 1998 on an agreement between late Hyundai
Group founder, Chung Ju-yung, and the North's leader Kim.
The business had since drawn more than 1.9 million South Korean visitors and
earned cash-strapped North Korea 487 million in tour fees. Hyundai spent
additional $714 million to build hotels and entertainment facilities at the
mountain.
Political relations rapidly chilled after the conservative government of Lee
Myung-bak came to power in Seoul last year, ending a decade-long rule by
liberals. Tension hiked in July when a female tourist was shot dead by a North
Korean soldier after straying into an off-limits military zone next to the
resort.
North Korea expressed regrets but refused to accept a South Korean team for
on-site investigation. Seoul promptly suspended the tour.
Inter-Korean relations thawed with Pyongyang's shift to conciliatory diplomacy in
the summer. But Seoul still keeps its stringent policy on business projects that
would send a sizable amount of cash to the North and thus may contravene the U.N.
resolutions imposed on the country after its long-range rocket and nuclear tests
in the spring.
Pyongyang on Wednesday repeated criticism of the South Korean government.
"There is an anti-unification force which, shutting its ears to the demands of
the people and anachronistically inspiring tension, blocks every path for the
improvement of inter-Korean relations. That is the Unification Ministry," the
Rodong Sinmun, the North's major newspaper published by the Workers' Party, said
in an article Wednesday.
In the August meeting with the Hyundai Group chief, the North Korean leader had
raised the issue of resumption of the Mount Kumgamg tour, suggesting it was a
condition for Pyongyang's agreement to hold cross-border reunions for separated
families. Family reunions were held the following month, but the two sides have
not been able to agree on continuing them on a regular basis.
"We have taken a number of bold actions for reconciliation and cooperation
between the Koreas. But the situation in South Korea grows increasingly dubious
and completely opposite to the directions and demands of the Korean people," the
Rodong Sinmun said in another article on Tuesday.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea reasserted Wednesday that it has no
intention yet of reopening a Hyundai-operated tour to North Korea, as the
deficit-laden company quietly marked the 11th anniversary of the suspended
mountain tour program.
North Korea, pressured by U.N. financial sanctions over its nuclear and missile
tests, has repeatedly called for the resumption of the lucrative tours to Mount
Kumgang, which South Korea suspended last year after a shooting death of a
tourist.
"At an appropriate time and when the climate of inter-Korean relations and other
conditions are ripe, I believe there will naturally be consultations between the
South and the North over the issue," Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung
said in a press briefing.
"But at this moment, I'd like to clarify again, we don't have any specific plans
to hold talks to resume the tour or to propose such talks."
The tour suspension would further frustrate not only North Korea but also the
South Korean tour operator, Hyundai Asan Corp., which reports a 203 billion won
(US$176 million) loss from it. Despite drastic restructuring this year that cut
back the company's workforce to less than half from 1,000 and Hyundai Group
chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun's high-profile meeting with North Korean leader Kim
Jong-il in August, Hyundai Asan's fate hangs by a thread on the mounting
deficits.
"We've now reached the end of the long tunnel. We'll make our best efforts to
ensure good news comes within this year," Cho Kun-shik, chief of Hyundai Asan,
said in a small ceremony held at Mount Kumgang to mark the 11th anniversary of
the start of the tour. The group chairwoman, Hyun, also attended the event.
Tours to Mount Kumgang, historically well-known for its picturesque beauty on
North Korea's southeast coast, began in 1998 on an agreement between late Hyundai
Group founder, Chung Ju-yung, and the North's leader Kim.
The business had since drawn more than 1.9 million South Korean visitors and
earned cash-strapped North Korea 487 million in tour fees. Hyundai spent
additional $714 million to build hotels and entertainment facilities at the
mountain.
Political relations rapidly chilled after the conservative government of Lee
Myung-bak came to power in Seoul last year, ending a decade-long rule by
liberals. Tension hiked in July when a female tourist was shot dead by a North
Korean soldier after straying into an off-limits military zone next to the
resort.
North Korea expressed regrets but refused to accept a South Korean team for
on-site investigation. Seoul promptly suspended the tour.
Inter-Korean relations thawed with Pyongyang's shift to conciliatory diplomacy in
the summer. But Seoul still keeps its stringent policy on business projects that
would send a sizable amount of cash to the North and thus may contravene the U.N.
resolutions imposed on the country after its long-range rocket and nuclear tests
in the spring.
Pyongyang on Wednesday repeated criticism of the South Korean government.
"There is an anti-unification force which, shutting its ears to the demands of
the people and anachronistically inspiring tension, blocks every path for the
improvement of inter-Korean relations. That is the Unification Ministry," the
Rodong Sinmun, the North's major newspaper published by the Workers' Party, said
in an article Wednesday.
In the August meeting with the Hyundai Group chief, the North Korean leader had
raised the issue of resumption of the Mount Kumgamg tour, suggesting it was a
condition for Pyongyang's agreement to hold cross-border reunions for separated
families. Family reunions were held the following month, but the two sides have
not been able to agree on continuing them on a regular basis.
"We have taken a number of bold actions for reconciliation and cooperation
between the Koreas. But the situation in South Korea grows increasingly dubious
and completely opposite to the directions and demands of the Korean people," the
Rodong Sinmun said in another article on Tuesday.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
