By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Gangwon Province plans to establish a ``peace zone'' for tourism and industrial development in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), separating the two Koreas.
Governor Kim Jin-sun announced a set of strategies Tuesday on how the DMZ could be used. ``The DMZ is the symbol of the world's only divided country and a treasured ecosystem, so a need for the planned usage and preservation of the area is emerging,'' Kim said at a media briefing in Seoul.
The strategies include establishing a ``peace zone'' in the DMZ; North and South Koreas' joint management of natural resources there; and promoting the DMZ as an international attraction.
``In the peace zone will be a tourism area connecting the North's Mt. Geumgang and the South's Mt. Seorak, an industrial complex like Gaeseong, and a `peace city' on the border which will be a gateway between the two Koreas,'' the governor said.
The joint management measures include using water resources at Bukhan River together, creating a joint fishing area in the East Sea, and restoring the castle town of Gungye, a self appointed king who established a country at the end of the Silla Kingdom.
To promote DMZ as a worldwide attraction, the province plans to have the zone listed as a World Heritage site, develop tourism programs, and set up an annex of the United Nations University there.
Kim said the province has already proposed some of the joint projects to North Korea, where they were welcomed. ``But such projects will be possible only after the governments of the two Koreas agree to them,'' he said.
For the plans, the province will set up a Gangwon DMZ Tourist Office in August and host an international conference, the Korea DMZ Peace Forum, in September.
However, whether the strategies can be put into practice remains to be seen, as many of the projects need a government-level budget and the recent shooting death of a South Korean tourist at Mt. Geumgang has chilled relations between the two Koreas.
``We haven't discussed plans with the government yet. We'll propose them so that it will promote many of the projects as part of state-level policies,'' Kim said.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
