(LEAD) N. Korea expresses regret over Seoul's calls to delay Mt. Kumgang tour talks
2013/08/28 22:01
(ATTN: UPDATES with more details, comments in paras 3-6; ADDS last 8 paras, photo)
SEOUL, Aug. 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea expressed regret over calls by Seoul to delay holding the Mount Kumgang tour talks and requested it reconsider its actions, the government said Wednesday.
The Ministry of Unification said Pyongyang notified the South of its views in an official message sent through the communication line at the neutral border village of Panmunjom.
Seoul on Tuesday proposed holding talks on Oct. 2, a week later than its previous offer. The North wanted the talks, aimed at reopening the scenic resort on its east coast, to take place in late August or early September at the latest.
Tours to Mount Kumkang were suspended in July 2008 after a North Korean guard shot and killed a South Korean tourist in a restricted zone. North Korea, which considers the resort a valuable source of revenue, has been requesting talks to resume operations, although Seoul has been reluctant to comply. This changed after an agreement between the two Koreas was reached on the reopening of the Kaesong Industrial Complex on Aug. 14 and the two sides expressed hope for further cooperation.
A source at the ministry said Seoul sent a reply making clear that the October date is realistic and reflects the needs for all sides to concentrate on arranging the Sept. 25-30 inter-Korean family reunions and trying to normalize the Kaesong complex.
The two sides have effectively agreed on a pact to set up a joint committee to run the complex. The South called for the committee's first meeting next week.
"We expect the North to accept our position that has been made after due consideration," said an official, who wanted to remain anonymous.
He also said that while the North may think the family reunion talks are linked to the Kumgang tour resumption talks, the government does not share this position.
Seoul considers reunions of family members separated by the 1950-53 Korean War a key humanitarian endeavor that should not be influenced by political and economic considerations.
Others in the ministry said policymakers are aware of the risks that the communist country may try to disrupt the family reunion talks because of the standoff over the meeting date, but do not think that will actually happen.
He said that talks on the family reunions are already underway and the North has allowed an advance team to check the venue.
The 55-person team led by the Korea National Red Cross visited the Mount Kumgang resort during the day where the reunions will be held and said facilities were suitable for the event. The team plans to visit the resort again on Thursday.
Related to the Mount Kumgang tour talks, Seoul has said any start of the tours must come with assurances that the lives of South Koreans will be protected at all costs. It said the North needs to rescind all actions that confiscated South Korean investments at the resort, which first started accepting tourist in 1998.
After Seoul halted visits by tourists, the North passed a new law that seized property built with South Korean money and turned the resort into a special international tourism zone.
The country tried to attract foreign tourists, but most North Korean analysts said such efforts have largely failed.
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