North Korea agrees to expand tourism with Hyundai
North Korea agrees to expand tourism with Hyundai
North Korea has agreed to expand its fledgling tourism operations
in the communist state, funded by South Korea's Hyundai Group, by
opening more cites to outsiders from next month, Hyundai said on
Sunday.
The agreement was reached following Saturday's meeting in
North Korea between the North's leader Kim Jong-il and Hyundai
Group executives including the group's chairwoman, Hyun Jeong-
eun, Hyundai said in a statement.
Under the agreement, Hyundai would open new tour routes to
Mount Paektu, which straddles the North's border with China, and
to Kaesong City, just north of the heavily militarized border
between the two Koreas.
Tours to Kaesong, where a joint industrial complex for South
Korean firms is located, were set to start before Aug. 15, and
the program at Mount Paektu would be launched "as soon as
possible", Hyundai said.
The two sides will also work to develop more tour programs at
Mount Kumgang, where Hyundai already runs a resort and land
tours, and other scenic sites in the North.
Hyundai Group's inter-Korean business arm, Hyundai Asan, began
cruises to Mount Kumgang on the peninsula's east cost in 1998 and
followed that up with land tours.
Hyundai has so far brought over one million mostly South
Korean tourists to the Kumgang region, but has yet to turn a
profit for its over $1 billion investment.
Hyundai is also developing the 18-hole golf course to promote
tourism in the Kumgang area which will add to hotels, a casino,
hot springs and a beach resort being developed. The tourism zone
is still highly controlled with only the limited number of North
Koreans have access to tourists. Roads taken by the tours are
generally fenced off from villages.
The development comes ahead of the planned six-nation talks to
end North Korea's nuclear arms program. The talks with Pyongyang
are due to resume in the week of July 25 after a break of over a
year.
The negotiation involves United States, China, Russia, Japan
and South Korea. North Korea declared itself a nuclear weapons
power in February. -- Reuters