Seoul Regrets Pyongyang’s Asset Seizure in Mt. Geumgang

By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter

South Korea expressed deep regret Friday over North Korea's announcement a day earlier that it would seize South Korean property in the Mt. Geumgang resort area, saying appropriate countermeasures will be forthcoming if Pyongyang violates the rules on inter-Korean cooperation projects.

"The responsibility for jeopardizing the tourism project lies with North Korea," Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung told reporters.

"We will deal sternly and firmly with this case. The North should know that any inter-Korean project cannot proceed if it infringes on the rights of enterprises."

The reaction came hours after the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that it would freeze South Korean assets in the Mt. Geumgang tourism complex and expel all the workers back to the South. Pyongyang would seek a new partner to resume trips to the troubled area as its agreement with South Koreans was no longer valid, it said.

The North also threatened to "reevaluate" the joint Gaeseong Industrial Complex, where 42,000 North Koreans are working for 110 South Korean firms.

Reports said Friday North Korea had already signed a contract with a Chinese tour operator to resume tours to the Mt. Geumgang.

"We are now checking the credibility of the reports," Chun said. "If the reports are true, the contract can create many problems because South Korea's Hyundai Asan still has the exclusive rights for the tours."

The spokesman said that no South Koreans had been removed from the Mt. Geumgang resort as of Friday afternoon.

South Korean assets the North has threatened to freeze include the reunion center for the separated families of the two Koreas, a duty free shop and a hot springs spa. It also nullified contracts with three South Korean firms, including Hyundai Securities.

South Korea suspended the tours to the resort in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot to death by a North Korean soldier.

Seoul has said the cross-border tours will not resume until Pyongyang apologizes for the shooting death, allows an on-site inspection by South Korean investigators, and takes measures to ensure the safety of tourists.

The two Koreas have held a series of negotiations this year on resuming the tours, but little progress has been made.

정부, 금강산 남한 자산 동결 유감 표명

정부는 금요일 남북협력 사업에 관한 규정을 어긴다면 적절한 상응조치를 취할 것이라며 하루 전 북한이 발표한 금강산 관광지에 있는 남한 자산을 동결하겠다는 발표에 대해 심한 유감을 표시했다.

천해성 통일부 대변인은 “관광사업을 난관에 봉착하게 한 책임은 북측에 있다”며 “이 문제를 단호하고 엄중하게 처리하겠다. 북한은 기업들의 권리를 침해하면 어떤 남북 경협 사업도 진행할 수 없다는 것을 알아야 한다”고 밝혔다.

이 같은 반응은 북한 국영 조선중앙통신이 금강산 관광단지 내에 있는 남한 자산을 동결하고 모든 직원들을 남으로 추방하겠다고 보도한지 수 시간 만에 나왔다. 이 통신은 북측은 남한과의 합의가 이미 효력이 없어져 이 문제의 지역으로의 관광을 재개하기 위해 새로운 파트너를 물색할 것이라고 말했다.

북측은 110개의 남한 기업에서 4만 2,000명의 북한 근로자들이 일하는 개성 공업단지를 “재평가하겠다고 으름장을 놓았다.

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