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North Korea has signed a deal with a New York-based company for tours to the Mount Kumgang resort, once jointly run with a South Korean conglomerate, a Korean-American businessman said Wednesday.
Park Il-woo, also known as Steve Park, who has long conducted business with the communist nation, said his firm recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the Mount Kumgang tourism business.　He is the president of Korea Pyongyang Trading U.S.A., which imports a North Korean liquor branded Pyongyang Soju.
The MOU stipulates that the company will be in charge of marketing, investor relations and tourist recruitment for what is said to be the most scenic mountain on the peninsula.　Under the agreement, the mountain area will be developed into a multi-purpose resort.
He said he plans to visit North Korea this weekend or next week to discuss concrete business plans. He expressed confidence that he will be able to attract substantial U.S. investment for the business. The North is also expected to select Japanese and Chinese business partners soon, he added.
Meanwhile, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on its Web site on Tuesday that it allocated more than $590,000 for emergency relief aid to help North Korea recover from its deadly floods.
South Korea’s Red Cross said in a message to its North Korean counterpart earlier Wednesday that it plans to send medical supplies and other necessities worth 5 billion won ($4.7 million) through the heavily fortified border.
(Yonhap News)

Korea Fines Apple Over iPhone Location Data Collection
As concerns rise worldwide regarding the privacy of mobile users, Korea’s communications regulator has fined Apple Korea 3 million won, or roughly 28-hundred US dollars for illegal collection of iPhone user location information.
The Korea Communications Commission announced on Wednesday that after a four-month investigation, it has found that even if iPhone users disabled location systems on their handsets, Apple collected users’ whereabouts from June 2010 to May 2011 and therefore, has ordered Apple’s local operation to pay the fine for violating the country’s location information laws.
Apple denied that it collects the location data of iPhone users and a company spokesman declined to say whether Apple would agree to pay the fine.
Korea is the first country to fine Apple over privacy-infringement allegations, and the penalty could set a precedent for cases elsewhere.
(Arirang News)