A 19-man delegation from Hyundai Asan plans to travel to North Korea on the 19th to celebrate the 14th anniversary of the launch of Mt. Geumgang tourism in November 1998.
The Ministry of Unification announced today that it has accepted a travel request from Hyundai Asan, the subsidiary of the South Korean conglomerate that handles all its inter-Korean business projects. The delegation, which includes company chairman Kim Jong Hak, plans to travel north via the inter-Korean transit office on the east coast, attend an event in the Mt. Geumgang tourist zone and then pay its respects at the tomb of former Hyundai Group chairman Chung Mong Hyun, who is buried there.
However, there is a small chance that the North Korean authorities will reject their application. The tourist zone has been a political weapon between Pyongyang and the government of President Lee Myung Bak throughout the life of the Lee administration. As a result, Hyundai Asan lost its exclusive right to operate the facilities in the zone, and since last year North Korea has been very pointedly attempting to attract visitors from elsewhere, notably China.
Nevertheless, it is deemed more likely that the North will accept the visit, taking the chance to meet company managers and prepare for the future, which is likely to include somewhat improved inter-Korean relations no matter who wins the South Korean presidential election on December 19th.
The Mt. Geumgang tourist project was officially launched on November 18th, 1998, when 826 people including many members of separated families traveled to the port at Jangjeon in North Korea by boat from Donghae, and from there to the Mt. Geumgang complex.
However, things went wrong a decade later, when Park Wang Ja, a South Korean citizen, was shot by a North Korean guard as she walked in a restricted area on July 11th, 2008. There has not been a South Korean tourist in the zone since.
