Seoul to Address N. Korean Asset Seizure in Early May

Seoul will announce early next month how it will respond to North Korea's threatened seizure of South Korea-owned facilities located at the Mt. Geumgang resort, Yonhap reported Sunday.

An unidentified government official told the news agency that Seoul will make its corresponding moves public after the North's timeframe for the property seizure expires.

North Korea on Saturday notified Hyundai Asan, operator of the suspended inter-Korean tours to the resort, it would carry out the seizure process from Tuesday through Friday.

It also told owners of the assets to report to the site at 9 a.m. on the first day to witness the process.

The North's announcement it would confiscate the facilities ― viewed as a play to get the South to resume the tourism project ― added to heightened tension on the peninsula as speculation of North Korean involvement in the sinking of the South Korean Navy vessel Cheonan deepens.

If the process is completed, the tourism project, a symbol of reconciliation between the two sides, could face the risk of permanently shutting down. The two Koreas technically remain at war, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

In addition to the property seizure, Pyongyang said Friday privately-owned South Korean assets at the resort will be frozen and South Koreans working there expelled.

The government source said Seoul will respond to such actions as they unfold.

The North explained the seizure as a measure to recoup damages it has incurred as a result of the suspension of the tours, which were a source of much-needed hard currency.

Seoul denounced the move, saying it was ``in violation of international laws and of both the contracts between North Korea and our businesses and the agreements between the governments.''

The tours were suspended after a South Korean woman was fatally shot while visiting the resort in July 2008. Almost 2 million have South Koreans visited the Geumgang facilities after the tours began in 1998.

The South has said it would resume tours only after the North agrees to a joint on-site investigation of the shooting incident and offers a state-to-state guarantee of the safety of tourists. Pyongyang has claimed it made the safety guarantee during talks with Hyundai Asan.

As for the current situation surrounding the peninsula, a North Korean state agency has said it has ``reached such an extreme phase that it is at the crossroads of war and peace, much less thinking of the resumption of the (cross-border) tour.''

Seoul has said it would take ``strong measures'' for the Mt. Geumgang action, but did not elaborate. It has also hinted the Cheonan issue could be taken to the UN. Security Council if a North Korean torpedo was indeed behind the sinking.

The properties to be seized include a family reunion center owned by the South Korean National Red Cross, as well as a cultural center and a spa owned by the Korea Tourism Organization.

The North froze the assets on April 13 after officials inspected them late last month.