N.Korea says will unilaterally remove S.Korean facilities at Mt Kumgang if South insists on talks

Ananti

14/11/2019 23:35

SEOUL, Nov 15 (Reuters) - North Korea said on Friday that it
had sent South Korea an "ultimatum" on Monday about North
Korea's Mt Kumgang tourist resort, saying that it will
unilaterally remove South Korea's facilities there if Seoul
insists on talks about the issue. 
    South Korea had proposed talks with North Korea on how to
handle its facilities in the North's resort, once a rare example
of cooperation between the Koreas, which North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un said last month he wants removed amid cooled
inter-Korean relations.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N27D010 
    North Korea had said they wanted to discuss the removal "by
writing", not by talks, but South Korea, while proposing talks,
said they will seek a "creative solution" and make the
protection of South Korean assets a priority. 
    "We sent an ultimatum on Nov. 11 that if the South Korean
authorities continue to insist on futile claims, we will
consider it an abandonment of the facilities and take firm steps
to unilaterally remove it," KCNA said. 
    "The South should know that we, who can handle the rubbish
South-side facilities however we want... have given a last
reprieve to remove their shoddy 'assets' considering our past
relationship." 
    Mt Kumgang is on North Korea's eastern coast, just beyond
the demilitarised zone separating the two countries. It was one
of two major inter-Korean economic projects, along with the
Kaesong industrial zone, and an important token of rapprochement
during decades of hostilities following the 1950-53 Korean War.
    Kim called the South-built Mt Kumgang resort facilities, now
more than a decade old, "shabby" and "capitalist," and ordered a
modern redevelopment of the tourist spot, KCNA reported in
October. 
    There have been no South Korean tours to Mt Kumgang since
2008, although there have been infrequent events such as the
reunions of families from both sides separated by the war.
    KCNA said on Friday that Kim inspected the construction site
of Yangdok Hot Springs tourist resort again, one of his pet
projects as he focuses on building up tourism as a revenue
resource that is not blocked by international sanctions. 
    A photo in state newspaper Rodong Sinmun showed him posing
in front of facilities including pools of water, a building and
a pagoda, with his shirt collar open. 
    It was his fourth publicized visit to Yangdok this year. In
an earlier visit in late October, Kim said it was "refreshing
and reviving" to visit the Yangdok resort, which is nearing
completion, comparing it as "a striking contrast to the Mt
Kumgang tourist area."  

 (Reporting by Joyce Lee; 
Editing by Sandra Maler)
 ((jungyoon.lee@tr.com; +82 2 6936 1467;))