N. Korea offers talks with S. Korea on suspended Mount Kumgang tour

SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has proposed talks with South Korea on
ways of resuming a lucrative mountain tour that was suspended last year because
of a shooting incident, sources at a Hyundai affiliate that operates the tour
said Friday.

The proposal came when Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun visited Mount
Kumgang on the North's east coast on Wednesday to mark the 11th anniversary of
the tour program, said the sources at Hyundai Asan Corp., the group's North Korea
business unit.
Unification Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.
South Korea halted the tours in July last year after the shooting death of a
tourist there.
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, historically well-known for its picturesque beauty.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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