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S. Korean Tourists Can Tour Mt. Kumgang by Overland Vehicles Next Year
South Koreans can visit the Mount Kumgang in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 2002 by overland vehicle under a newly-reached inter-Korean tourism agreement.
At a press conference held here Sunday, Hyundai Asian President Kim Yoon-kyu, who returned from the DPRK Saturday, said his company and DPRK's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee agreed to open a 13.7-kilometer overland tourist route from South Korea's Paju to DPRK's Kosong, which is close to the scenic mountains.
The land route program is hoped to be launched within the second half of this year. The construction work is likely to take eight months once the governments in Seoul and Pyongyang sign an agreement and remove all landmines buried on the route since the 1950-1953 Korean War, Kim said.
Some 50-80 million U.S. dollars will be needed for the construction and the money could be loaned from the official fund for inter-Korean cooperation.
At the conference, Kim also pointed out that the sea route program to the same area, which opened in 1998, will continue. It takes some 12 hours to the mountain from South Korea
In the agreement, the Hyundai Asian has promised to pay the accrued fees of 22 million dollars it owes to the DPRK as early as possible based on the company's cash flow, and the DPRK Asia- Pacific Committee agreed to readjust the payment scheme in proportion to the actual number of tourists.
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