hankyoreh

North Korean pressure to resume the Mt. Kumkang tourism venture has finally culminated in its unilateral removal of some of the project monopoly rights enjoyed by thee Hyundai Group. In a spokesman’s statement Friday, North Korea’s Asia-Pacific Peace Committee declared that it was “revoking the validity of provisions regarding monopoly rights given to Hyundai in the agreement established with Hyundai regarding Mt. Kumkang tourism.” The tourism venture, once a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation and interchange, is now faced with the serious threat of permanently running aground.
This extreme move by North Korea appears to have the goal of making a breakthrough in resuming the tourism project through pressure on the South Korean government, while at the same time establishing a pretext for drawing tourists from China and other countries, depending on the circumstances. Bolstering this analysis is a sentence in the North Korean statement that reads, “While we will be in charge of Mt. Kumkang tourism through the North Korean region, we may entrust it to an overseas service provider.”
However, it remains in question whether the extreme pressure from North Korea will actually achieve this goal. Not only does it place the Hyundai Group, a private business, in a difficult position, but it also appears unlikely to contribute anything to improving the inter-Korean situation.
Responsibility for the Mt. Kumkang tourism effort meeting this fate unquestionably lies equally with both North Korea and South Korea. As tensions have continued to increase between the two countries with the unresolved shooting death of South Korean tourist Park Wang-ja, the Cheonan sinking, and the artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island, the resumption of the tourism effort receded further and further from the realm of possibility. North Korean and South Korean authorities have contributed equally to this, the former by continuing with its intimidation tactics over the Mt. Kumkang tourism issue and the latter by washing its hands of any attempt to make a real breakthrough and instead merely insisting upon an investigation into Ms. Park’s death. This time as well, the South Korean government declined to offer any substantive measures in response. Instead, it merely insisted on an immediate withdrawal, contending that the move “constitutes a violation of the agreement between North Korean and South Korean authorities and also goes against international relations.”
Ultimately, no solution toward resuming the tourism effort appears possible without a resolution within the broader framework of improved inter-Korean relations. In this regard, it is highly suggestive that U.S. ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens recently said that Washington was carrying out various meetings and efforts toward dialogue with Pyongyang and that a positive situation was expected within one to two months. The United States has broadened its avenues for dialogue with North Korea through recent discussions on food aid, and former President Jimmy Cartner is scheduled to visit Pyongyang with three former European leaders on April 26. This situation demands that our government show a different approach from the one it has thus far. Any delay and it will find itself one step behind, getting pulled along.
　　
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