Last week, North Korea’s Asia-Pacific Peace Committee sent a statement to both the South Korean Ministry of Unification and Hyundai Asan summoning a meeting of all South Korean holders of assets within the Mt. Geumgang Resort and officials in charge of tour businesses at the mountain resort complex on March 25th, their purpose being to survey the status of existing South Korean real estate within the zone.
North Korea’s hard-line attitude had been widely expected. Indeed, the Committee itself released another statement on March 4th which announced, “If South Korea continues to suspend tours to the North, we can only resort to drastic measures.”
The purpose of all this is to put pressure on the South Korean government by creating an air of anxiety. This analysis gains added credence when we note that the North Korean statement included a list of North Korean personnel on the committee charged with investigating South Korean real estate which includes both military personnel and members of the cabinet.
However, while all experts see the summoning of South Korean real estate owners as a pressure tactic to get the tours resumed, different views are being offered on the possibility of ultimate termination of the contracts or the likelihood of finding a way through the impasse.
Speaking by phone with The Daily NK, Dong Yong Seung, leader of the economic security team at Samsung Economic Research Institute, explained, “Fundamentally, North Korea believes that North-South economic cooperation like the Mt. Geumgang tours and the Kaesong Industrial Complex benefit South Korea. Therefore, they believe South Korea will be damaged if the exchanges are completely halted. From the North Korean perspective, then, a measure like confiscating real estate is just the simple task of rescinding a ‘benefit’.”
Also, he commented, “Judging from past cases of restricting access to the Kaesong Industrial Complex and requesting a 300% increase in North Korean worker’s salaries, the termination of contracts with business owners isn’t out of the question. It is very possible that North Korea will follow the sequence as notified.”
On the other hand, Oh Gyeong Seob, a research fellow with the Sejong Institute, commented that, “North Korea is shouldering a massive burden without the Mt. Geumgang and Kaesong tours.” So, he noted, “the possibility of reaching their dissolution is not high.”
Nevertheless, Oh also agreed, “The summoning of the South Korean real estate owners is a measure to pressure the South Korean government. North Korea is using pressure tactics while trying to find common ground.”
“North Korea’s having chosen such a desperate strategy is a result of the way Inter-Korean relations have gone until now. A principled correspondence is required this time to bring about appropriate Inter-Korean relations as advocated by the South Korean government.”
Indeed, the South Korean government’s position on the issue of resuming the tours seems firm, which means that stagnation seems inevitable for the time being.
Regarding the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee’s statement, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification stated, “It is a violation of both an agreement between North and South Korean authorities and also of international practice, and we find such a measure unfortunate. We would like to urge North Korea to accede to negotiations.”
In addition, the Ministry of Unification rejected the possibility of contacting North Korea on the matter, even stating, “We have no plan to comply with the investigation regarding the visiting facility for separated families, which is the South Korean government’s real estate within the Mt. Geumgang district.”
The South Korean government’s demand for security guarantees prior to the resumption of tours is based on the cases of Park Wang Ja, who was shot dead in the Mt. Geumgang district in July 2008 and Yoo Sung Jin, an employee in the Kaesong Industrial Complex who was detained for 137 days without adequate representation.
However, North Korea is sticking to its position that no additional measures are required after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il met South Korean business woman Hyun Jung Eun, the Chairwoman of Hyundai Corporation, last year and personally gave her a security guarantee.
The biggest issue between North and South Korea on the issue of resuming the Mt. Geumgang and Kaesong City tours is the assurance of tourist security, but most experts also agree that even if an agreement is reached on the issue, the discussion will inevitably turn to payment methods, which indicates that there are lots of difficulties to overcome before the tours have any hope of resuming.
