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A view of Mt. Kumgang tourism facilities broadcasted by Korean Central Television on Oct. 23.

South and North Korea are speeding up their efforts to find a solution to revive the imperiled Mt. Kumgang tourism project. On Oct. 28, the South Korean government made a proposal to the North to “hold working-level [director-general] talks at Mt. Kumgang at a convenient time for discussions on issues related to tourism at Mt. Kumgang, including those raised by the North.” A response to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s order on Oct. 23 to demolish related facilities “upon agreement with the relevant South Korean sectors,” this came three days after the North’s proposal on Oct. 23 for correspondence discussions and a visit to North Korea for the demolition on an agreed-upon date. If the talks do come to pass, they will be the first between South and North Korean authorities in more than 10 months since the second round of athletic subcommittee talks on Dec. 14 of last year.

How favorably Pyongyang responds appears likely to determine the course ahead for inter-Korean relations. If the talks take place, they would provide a forum not only for discussing measures to encourage tourism at Mt. Kumgang but also for addressing the current chill in inter-Korean relations. If North Korea refused to meet, inter-Korean relations are poised to deteriorate further amid intensifying conflicts, including the matter of intellectual property rights protections for the South Korean facilities at Mt. Kumgang.

Under the approach proposed by South Korea for the talks, a delegation of director-general-level officials would be accompanied by tourism business operators. In a briefing, Lee Sang-min, spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification (MOU), explained, “The government and Hyundai Asan respectively sent messages to North Korea’s Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee (KAPPC) and Mt. Kumgang international tourism division on the morning of Oct. 28 by way of the joint inter-Korean liaison office [in Kaesong].”

“They proposed working-level talks by authorities and notified [North Korea] that tourism business operators would be accompanying them,” Lee said. The approach in question would have the MOU holding discussions with KAPPC and Hyundai Asan with Pyongyang’s Mt. Kumgang international tourism division. It’s a subtly different approach from that of North Korea, which sent individual notifications to the MOU and Hyundai Asan on Oct. 25 in the name of its Mt. Kumgang international tourism division. KAPPC, which South Korea chose as the recipient for its MOU message, is the North’s signatory body that agreed to the Mt. Kumgang tourism cooperation effort with Hyundai in 1998. It is a peripheral Workers’ Party of Korea organization chaired by WPK Vice Chairman Kim Yong-chol.

While North Korea announced its plans for the demolition of South Korean structures with South Korean officials present as part of Kim’s vision for a North Korean-led “general international tourism culture zone,” the South Korean government is focusing instead on an approach that would involve the demolition of some aged structures along with large-scale repairs and renovations in line with the new strategy -- a method premised on the revitalization of Mt. Kumgang tourism through inter-Korean cooperation. This explains the message from Lee Sang-min, who said that “unilateral [North Korean] measures regarding South Korean companies’ intellectual property rights conflict with the sentiments of the South Korean public and could potentially damage inter-Korean relations,” stressing the need need to “resolve things reasonably through adequate discussions between South and North.”

An image of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting tourist facilities at Mt. Kumgang released by the Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 23. (Yonhap News)

As an example, this approach would permit the demolition of Hotel Haegumgang through appropriate means. Hotel Haegumgang is a barge-based floating hotel in Mt. Kumkang’s Changjon Port that has been rendered idle by the halt in coastal tourism, but calls for repairs and renovation to the Onjonggak hall, golf courses, and other facilities in line with a new tourism stimulation strategy to be agreed upon by the two sides. In its message to the North, Hyundai Asan “proposed discussions on the issues raised by the North and a new development direction for the Mt. Kumgang zone,” Lee explained.

The South Korean government is now devoting its energies to “creative solutions” to breathe new life into Mt. Kumgang tourism. The solutions it is exploring can be considered in terms of two aspects: conditions/environment and content. As conditions and environmental factors, the government has pointed to the international political situation (the US variable and sanctions against North Korea), inter-Korean discussions (the agreement of North Korean authorities), and a consensus among South Koreans (the support of public opinion). In terms of content, it is focusing on the “new environment” with intensive North Korea sanctions and Kim’s new tourism strategy, and on plans for “making the most of Mt. Kumgang as a setting for inter-Korean cooperation.”

More concretely, its vision involves effectively resuming and promoting the tourism project’s benefits without violating international sanctions by effectively combining the project’s three key functions as an inter-Korean project since tourism first began there in November 1998: tourism, reunions for divided family members, and social and cultural exchange. This was expressed by Lee Sang-min, who said, “A creative solution can begin from comprehensive consideration of the Mt. Kumgang area’s three spatial functions in terms of tourism, divided family reunions, and social and cultural exchange.”

In the case of tourism, a simple resumption of the large-scale group tours spearheaded by Hyundai Asan before the project’s suspension in July 2008 is unlikely to work. The reason has to do with the tourism cost payment method, which may correspond to the “bulk cash” (large amounts of cash that could potentially be used for WMD development) targeted by UN sanctions. This explains the remarks made in a meeting with Blue House reporters on Oct. 25 by President Moon Jae-in, who said, “The previous tourism approach will be in some regards difficult to resume because of UNSC sanctions.”

As a way around the bulk cash question, the South Korean government is exploring and pursuing individual tourism as a priority approach. Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha previously broached the topic in an Oct. 24 press conference, where she noted that “individual tourism is not subject to sanctions.”

Seoul’s view is that the benefits of resuming and promoting tourism can be attained if large numbers of people travel to the Mt. Kumgang region, regardless of the reason for their visit. For this reason, it is attempting to include the promotion of divided family reunions and social and cultural exchange using the Mt. Kumgang divided family reunion site as part of its “creative solutions.”

Indeed, a reunion event for divided family members was held at Mt. Kumgang in August 2018. Events held at Mt. Kumgang over the past year in spite of the long impasse in inter-Korean relations include a Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation solidarity event on Nov. 3-4, 2018, a commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Mt. Kumgang tourism the following Nov. 18-19, a commemoration of Hyundai Asan’s 20th anniversary on Feb. 8, and a New Year’s solidarity gathering for implementation of the inter-Korean Joint Statement held by South and North Korean private groups on Feb. 12-13.

But a number of hurdles remain to be cleared for Seoul’s “creative solutions” combining individual tourism, family reunions, and social and cultural exchange to become a reality, including efforts to persuade the US government to waive sanctions and reach an agreement with South and North Korean authorities. There’s a long road ahead -- and the working-level talks between authorities will mark the first step.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer, and Noh Ji-won, staff reporter

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