North Korea 'to seize property at Kumgang resort'

Posted on Friday, April 23, 2010

The resort had been a key source of income for North Korea

North Korea is to seize five properties owned by South Korea at the Mount Kumgang tourist resort, reports say.

The North says it will either take ownership of the facilities itself or hand them to a new tourism partner, the South's Yonhap news agency reports.

Pyongyang had earlier scrapped a deal on the resort in the North, which had been developed by a Southern firm.

The move comes as tensions rise over an unexplained blast which sank a South Korean ship, leaving more than 40 dead.

A North Korean tourism official said the properties were being confiscated "in compensation for our loss due to the long suspension of the tour", Yonhap quoted the North's state media as saying.

The five facilities to be seized include a fire station, a duty free shop and a Red Cross-built centre to host family reunions, Yonhap said.

The official said the properties would be returned to state possession or "handed over to new businessmen according to legal procedures".

The resort had been a lucrative source of income for North Korea, until Seoul suspended its tours after a South Korean tourist was shot dead there.

Housewife Park Wang-ja, 53, was killed by North Korean guards on 11 July 2008 on a beach near the resort.

South Korea says it wants the killing - when the tourist allegedly strayed into a military area - properly investigated before it allows tours to resume.

Last month, North Korea threatened to take "extraordinary measures" unless the South lifted its ban.