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Pyongyang, Seoul to Continue Discussions on Tourism Cooperation
The Democratic People's Republic of Korean (DPRK) and South Korea agreed Friday to hold more talks on how to revive the troubled tourism of the DPRK's Mount Kumgang.
The agreement was made at the end of the first round of the three-day inter-Korean authorities' talks, in which both sides originally planned to open a road from South Korea to a resort in the scenic area but failed.
Despite the failure, both sides share the view that the revival of Mount Kumgang tourism contributes to the promotion of national reconciliation and cooperation and it is symbolic to the present inter-Korean relations.
Both sides also appreciated the great efforts made by the Korean Asian-pacific Peace Committee and the Hyundai Group of South Korean to promote tourism of famous Mount Kumgang for the last three years, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
South Korea's Hyundai Group had been paying 12 million U.S. dollars a month to the North to run ferry cruises to the Mount Kumgang resort, but stopped all payments in March because of its own financial problems and a declining number of tourists.
The resort scheme is a central item in South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's policy of engagement between the two countries, which remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended in an armed truce that has never been replaced by a peace treaty.
The meeting, started on Thursday at the DPRK's Mount Kumgang tourism resort, aimed to revive the troubled tourism resort project that has come to symbolize reconciliation efforts between the two countries.
Both sides also agreed to hold the second round of the talks this month.
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