By Kang Hyun-kyung
North Korea demanded Tuesday that the South Korean authorities and investors be fully prepared to hold a serious meeting to discuss matters related to Mt. Geumgang tourism.
If Seoul ignores this chance, it threatened, the South will never have such an opportunity again.
The antagonistic rhetoric comes a day before a South Korean delegation, consisting of government officials and private investors, is due to visit the North through Goseong, Gangwon Province, today.
The Stalinist state issued the threat in a statement posted on its official website “Uriminjokkiri” under the headline “Otherwise, South Korea will lose the opportunity forever.”
“The South Korean authorities are hurting mutual benefits that the two Koreas can gain ... and are preventing its people from travelling to the resort area. They are responsible for the consequences,” it said.
“If the South rejects the opportunity this time, they will never be given such an opportunity to discuss the matter related to the tourism project, again.”
In the statement, the North justified an announcement made on June 17 that it would dispose of all assets that belong to South Korean investors. The North called the announcement “legitimate.”
Earlier, North Korea demanded South Korean investors come to the resort site for a meeting no later than June 30.
The Ministry of Unification and private investors, including Hyundai Asan, the operator of the tourism project for Mt. Geumgang, were reportedly divided over the North’s unilateral call.
The ministry warned that the North should respect existing rules governing the inter-Korean project and protect South Korean investors’ properties even though the tours remains suspended.
But it remained cautious about the North’s forceful request for South Korean investors to visit the resort area for a meeting.
Hyundai Asan and other investors were concerned over the North’s announcement as their assets are at risk of being disposed of by the North.
They have called on the government allow them to visit.
After talks with the investors, the Unification Ministry decided to form a public-private delegation for a meeting with North Korean officials.
The team consists of six government officials from unification, justice and culture, sports and tourism ministries and 12 representatives from the private sector.
They will head to the Mt. Geumgang resort today and will return to Seoul the same day.
No details of the meeting schedule with North Korean officials have been made public as the North has not provided any firm information.
The only thing that has been confirmed so far is that the South Korean delegation will depart from Seoul for the resort area because that is what the North wanted them to do.