S. Korea urged to 'unconditionally' resume tours to N. Korea

SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean company operating businesses in North Korea urged the Seoul government Wednesday to "unconditionally" resume tours to North Korea, despite worsening inter-Korean ties.

Tours to Mount Kumgang on North Korea's east coast, the first destination in the
North opened to tourists in 1998, have been halted since July when a South Korean
tourist was fatally shot by a North Korean soldier.
Another tour program to North Korea's ancient border city was suspended early
this month after Pyongyang took a series of retaliatory steps against the South's
hard-line policy toward it.
The South Korean government "should declare an unconditional resumption of tours
to Mt. Kumgang" to improve ties with the North, said Cho Kun-shik, chief
executive of Hyundai Asan Corp., an affiliate of Hyundai Group.
Cho, a former vice minister with the South's unification ministry in charge of
North Korean affairs, reiterated that the Seoul government should take "bold
steps" to normalize relations with the North.
The tourist's death in July further deteriorated inter-Korean ties already soured
with the inauguration of conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who
took office in February with a pledge to get tough on Pyongyang.
Lee has said South Korea would help North Korea only when the communist regime
gives up its nuclear ambitions.
In response, North Korea has accused the Lee government of failing to live up to
two summit agreements reached by his two liberal predecessors that call for
massive investment in the North.
(END)