ID :
197447
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 07:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/197447
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea expresses regret over N. Korea's rejection of talks over seized assets
SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea expressed regret Wednesday over North Korea's rejection of talks on how to resolve the dispute on their stalled oint tour program at a North Korean mountain resort.
The development comes amid Pyongyang's looming threat to dispose of South Korean assets at Mount Kumgang unless South Korean investors join an international tour program of the resort under its new law.
A delegation of South Korean government officials and business representatives has traveled twice to the resort since late June, though no progress was made.
South Korea proposed on Monday that officials from the two sides hold talks on Friday at the resort, but the North added a condition for Seoul's offer on Tuesday, saying South Korean business representatives should be brought to the talks.
The North also warned Tuesday that it will take unspecified legal actions to dispose of the South Korean assets if Seoul fails to bring its private investors to the resort or tries to obstruct its negotiations on how to dispose of the assets.
"It's regrettable that the North virtually rejected talks" between officials as it insisted only on disposing of the assets, Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo told reporters.
South Korea will decide on how to cope with the North's latest move, she said, without elaborating.
South Korea has warned that the North's disposal of the assets would violate inter-Korean deals and infringe on property rights of South Korean investors.
South Korea has invested tens of millions of dollars in building hotels, restaurants and a golf course at the resort since 1998 when the North opened it for South Korean tourists.
Seoul halted the tour programs in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean female tourist at the resort.
Last year, the North seized or froze several South Korean assets at the resort in apparent anger over the stalled project that had served as a key cash cow for the impoverished country.
Earlier this year, the North unilaterally terminated exclusive tourism rights for Hyundai Asan, a key South Korean tour operator at the resort. However, it later announced a law designed to develop the resort as a special zone for international tours.
The development comes amid Pyongyang's looming threat to dispose of South Korean assets at Mount Kumgang unless South Korean investors join an international tour program of the resort under its new law.
A delegation of South Korean government officials and business representatives has traveled twice to the resort since late June, though no progress was made.
South Korea proposed on Monday that officials from the two sides hold talks on Friday at the resort, but the North added a condition for Seoul's offer on Tuesday, saying South Korean business representatives should be brought to the talks.
The North also warned Tuesday that it will take unspecified legal actions to dispose of the South Korean assets if Seoul fails to bring its private investors to the resort or tries to obstruct its negotiations on how to dispose of the assets.
"It's regrettable that the North virtually rejected talks" between officials as it insisted only on disposing of the assets, Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo told reporters.
South Korea will decide on how to cope with the North's latest move, she said, without elaborating.
South Korea has warned that the North's disposal of the assets would violate inter-Korean deals and infringe on property rights of South Korean investors.
South Korea has invested tens of millions of dollars in building hotels, restaurants and a golf course at the resort since 1998 when the North opened it for South Korean tourists.
Seoul halted the tour programs in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean female tourist at the resort.
Last year, the North seized or froze several South Korean assets at the resort in apparent anger over the stalled project that had served as a key cash cow for the impoverished country.
Earlier this year, the North unilaterally terminated exclusive tourism rights for Hyundai Asan, a key South Korean tour operator at the resort. However, it later announced a law designed to develop the resort as a special zone for international tours.
