By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea is expected to demand the resumption of the Mount Geumgang tour program during the upcoming inter-Korean high-level talks, as the state-controlled media in Pyongyang continues to focus on the suspended project.
South and North Korea are scheduled to hold the talks Friday at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North.
The Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, published an article including an anecdote from former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il about the scenic mountain on Nov. 28, one day after the two sides agreed on holding the high-level meeting. Kim is the father of the current dictator Kim Jong-un.
On Dec. 1, DPRK Today, a North Korean tourism website, also uploaded pictures of the mountain, and described it as a unique tourist destination in the world.
“Despite many tourist attractions, there is no place like Mount Geumgang that is surrounded by sea and a lake,” it said.
On Nov. 26, it published a travel essay by Kim Hee-sook, a North Korean author residing in China that also featured the benefits of visiting the mountain and the impact of stopping the tours.
“Hundreds of thousands of South Korean people had annually visited the mountain to enjoy the scenic view, but the suspension of the tour program has led to those who were economically damaged venting their anger,” it said.
As part of reconciliatory efforts between the two Koreas, cruises to the scenic resort located on the North’s east coast began in 1998 and the tourism program entered a boom period, resulting in the addition of a land route in 2003.
However, tourism from South to North was suspended in 2008 when a female tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier.
Since then, the North Korean regime has called for the South Korean government to resume the tour program, which was a major source of hard currency for the impoverished country. It earned $40 million per year from the project.
“The North is seeking to attract foreign tourists to the Mount Geumgang resort after unveiling a project to build the Wonsan-Mount Geumgang International Tourism Zone earlier this year. Its recent promotion has to do with its intent to table the issue during the vice ministers’ meeting,” said An Chan-il, the head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies.
“In addition, the North has spent lots of money to burnish the legacy of Kim Jong-un, so the country needs hard currency. The tour program can fulfill the North’s need.”