Pyongyang, April 8 - DPRK has announced to terminate a tourism deal with S. Korea at the famous Mt. Kumgang and look for a new partner. Stated in a report, DPRK will halt S. Korean assets at the resort, remove S. Korean personnel and nullify the agreement with Hyundai at Mt. Kumgang.
Tours to Mt. Kumgang, were launched in 1998 and operated by South Korea's Hyundai Asan Corp. In 2008 tours were called to halt because a S. Korean female tourist was killed by a DPRK soldier. Since then tours to Kaesong area (close to the border) also were suspended the same year, to further hinder inter-Korean ties.
DPRK will establish a new business venture with a new partner to explore tourism in M. Kumgang area; however, the new partner is undecided. The ministry reiterated that the DPRK's unilateral move violated agreements set between the operators and governments on both sides. S. Korean corporations and the S. Korean government have dumped nearly KRW 1 trillion (US$890 million) into developing and operating the M. Kumgang resort.
