North Korea has reaffirmed its commitment toward inter-Korean economic cooperation projects despite growing tension over its recent launches of missiles, a South Korean operator of an inter-Korean business project said Sunday.
"We are confident that ongoing inter-Korean economic cooperation projects such as the Mount Geumgang tour will produce new meaningful results," the North's Asia Pacific Peace Committee said in a letter sent to Hyundai Asan Corp., the operator of a tour program to Mount Geumgang in the North.
On Tuesday, the North sent the letter to mark the third anniversary on Friday of the death of Chung Mong-hun, former chairman of Hyundai Asan, an arm of Hyundai Group in charge of various business projects in the communist country, including tours to Mount Geumgang for South Koreans. Chung committed suicide in 2003 after being interrogated by prosecutors about slush funds he allegedly provided to politicians to promote his company's North Korea business projects, including an inter-Korean industrial complex in the North Korean border town of Kaesong.
It is the first time that Pyongyang expressed its stance toward inter-Korean economic cooperation projects currently underway since it launched missiles in early July.
There have been concerns that inter-Korean cooperation efforts may hit a snag after the test-launch of missiles. Angered by the test launches, the South suspended humanitarian aid, including fertilizer aid, to the communist state.
The North reacted by halting reunion events for those families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, and also suspended the construction of a 12-story reunion center at the Mount Geumgang resort on the North's east coast.
Along with the Kaesong industrial complex, the tour program to Mount Geumgang is a symbol of inter-Korean rapprochement, and more than 1 million South Koreans have visited since it was launched in 1998.
But far fewer South Koreans visited the scenic mountain resort in North Korea last month as tensions ran high on the Peninsula after the communist state test-fired a series of missiles, according to Hyundai Asan.
The number of people taking the cross-border tour in July dropped 43 percent drop compared with the same period last year. A total of 19,605 people traveled there last month, according to the company.
Seoul, Aug. 6 (Yonhap News)
Pyongyang vows commitment toward inter-Korean economic cooperation |
