By Kang Hyun-kyung
North Korea said Friday it would begin disposing of South Korean-owned buildings in the jointly run resort at Mt. Geumgang.
It asked all South Korean parties with property at Mt. Geumgang to go to the scenic east coast resort by June 30 "to discuss the matter of disposing of the frozen and seized properties."
Citing an unnamed spokesman from the authorities overseeing the tourism site, North Korea’s Central News Agency reported that the North told South Korean investors to visit the resort area for a meeting to discuss the matter.
Those who were invited include a representative of Hyundai Asan, the operator of Mt. Geumgang tours.
Hyundai Asan said it has yet to receive any official request from the North about the meeting. The company said it will discuss the proposal with other South Korean investors after they receive official notification.
The North’s state-controlled media also said an increasing number of international investors have shown interest in the tourism site as an investment.
“Mt. Geumgang tourism has drawn international interest and several governments and investors have expressed their willingness to invest in the tourism site,” it said.
In May, North Korea designated the Mt. Geumgang resort area as an international tourism enclave to attract foreign investment.
The North Korean announcement came a day after Pyongyang urged Seoul to send back the nine North Koreans that crossed the maritime border in the West Sea last week.
The North Koreans aboard a small boat showed their explicit intention to defect to the South when they were spotted in the West Sea by the South Korean military.
The nine were quoted as again expressing their desire to defect to the South when questioned by a joint interrogation team. The National Intelligence Service, police and the Joint Chiefs of Staff joined the inter-agency interrogation team.
Regarding the North’s request to send them back, the Seoul informed the Pyongyang that the government will respect the nine North Koreans’ decision to stay here.
The government faxed the message to the North through the Red Cross.
Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at the Sejong Institute, said that the two events _ North Korea’s intention to dispose of assets and demanding the return of the nine North Koreans to the North _ are separate but have one thing in common.
That is they are not positive gestures at all for inter-Korean relations, he said.
“The North playing hardball with the tourism project was expected from the moment the North designated the Mt. Geumgang resort area as an international tourism enclave,” said Cheong.
“With this move, the North is sending the message that it won’t do business with the South until President Lee Myung-bak is no longer in office. It will try to court Chinese or other international tourists, instead of South Koreans.”
Cheong pointed to a surge of China coverage in state-controlled North Korean newspapers and broadcasts to find some implications of its playing hardball.
“Recently, the North Korean media reported on China’s military clout and what the Chinese security forces have taken in detail. This showed North Korea-China relations are close,” he said.
