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NORTH KOREA THIS WEEK NO. 491 (March 20, 2008)
*** INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS
South Korean tourists cross inter-Korean border by car
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- For the first time in over five decades, South Korean tourists en route to a North Korean mountain resort on March 17 crossed the heavily fortified inter-Korean border in their own cars, tour organizers said.
A convoy of 15 private vehicles reached the scenic Mt. Kumgang resort on North Korea's east coast, said Hyundai Asan, the Seoul company which runs the tours. It was the first time that South Korean tourists have crossed the border using their own cars since the 1950-1953 Korean War sealed the division of the peninsula.
The new tour of the mountain is an effort to boost demand for the inter-Korean tourism project, an official at Hyundai Asan said.
Hyundai Asan launched its tours to Mt. Kumgang in 1998, first using ships and later buses to shuttle South Koreans across the border. More than 1.5 million visitors, mostly Koreans, have taken the tour.
North Korea is allowing up to 20 privately owned South Korean vehicles to cross the border daily and travel at a maximum speed of 50 kilometers per hour to the mountain resort. But motorists are banned from driving around the resort. Instead, they must park their cars and join the group tour buses. The cost of the three-day tour using private cars is 340,000 won ($330) per person.
Hyundai Asan recently started a tour of the North's western border city of Kaesong, where an inter-Korean industrial complex is located. Kaesong was the capital of the ancient Koryo Kingdom.
At a historic summit last October, the leaders of the two Koreas agreed to open the North's highest peak, Mt. Paektu on the Chinese border, to South Korean tourists from this May.
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Large group of South Korean businessmen visits North Korea
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- A large group of South Korean businessmen arrived in Pyongyang on March 19 to inspect industrial facilities and explore investment opportunities in North Korea, South Korean organizers said.
The 159-member group was the largest South Korean delegation to visit North Korea since the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration was inaugurated on Feb. 25.
The group received permission from the Seoul government for the trip, according Acheon Global Corp., a co-organizer of the event.
Lee, the first conservative South Korean president after a decade of liberal rule, has vowed to take a tougher stance toward North Korea and reconsider new joint cooperation projects that were agreed upon at an inter-Korean summit last October.
A chartered plane carrying the businessmen landed at Pyongyang's Sunan Airport at around noon after travelling about 50 minutes on a direct air route linking the two Koreas.
During their four-day trip guided by North Korean officials, the delegates, all CEOs of small- and medium-sized corporations, planned to visit the Kimchaek University of Technology in Pyongyang and industrial facilities, including the West Sea Flood Gate in Nampho, a spokesman for Acheon said.
They also planned to hold a seminar on investment in North Korea before returning to Seoul on March 22.
"The delegation is composed of businessmen interested in investment or joint-venture business in North Korea," the spokesman said. "It will be a very useful event for the entrepreneurs."
Acheon, founded by Hyundai Asan's former vice chief Kim Yoon-kyu, is involved in trading and other joint economic programs with North Korea. The industrial inspection program was co-organized by Pacific Holiday Tour, a Seoul-based tour agency.
(END)
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