Pyongyang has warned Seoul that it would unilaterally dismantle tourist facilities in the Mount Kumgang area, a mountain range north of the demilitarized zone separating the two countries, if South Korea does not do it on its own, North Korean media reported on Friday
SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2019) Pyongyang has warned Seoul that it would unilaterally dismantle tourist facilities in the Mount Kumgang area, a mountain range north of the demilitarized zone separating the two countries, if South Korea does not do it on its own, North Korean media reported on Friday.
In October, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the site, which has been abandoned since 2008, and denounced the structures as resembling makeshift tents in disaster stricken areas. Seoul offered Pyongyang to hold working-level talks on the revival of the long-suspended joint tourist program. However, North Korea refused to hold negotiations on the matter.
The KCNA news outlet reported that Pyongyang sent an ultimatum to its southern neighbor on November 11 and warned that it would unilaterally tear down the facilities if South Korea refused to do so.
The project on building tourist resort facilities in the Mount Kumgang area began in 1998 and was predominantly funded and built by South Korea with Hyundai Asan, the car manufacturer's investment wing that develops projects in North Korea, as its main investor.
The tours have been halted since 2008, when a South Korean tourist was shot upon entering what North Korea claimed was a restricted area.�
