Pyongyang to expel S. Korean workers
Source: Agencies |
May 1, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NORTH Korea yesterday said it is to kick out more than 60 South Koreans from a joint tourism resort, a South Korean official said.
The two Koreas started the tour program more than a decade ago as part of reconciliation efforts on the divided peninsula, which remains technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
But South Korea halted cross-border tours in 2008 following the fatal shooting of a tourist at the Diamond Mountain resort on the North Korea's east coast.
Pyongyang has since demanded that Seoul resume tours to the facility, which provided a much-needed influx of hard currency to North Korea. But South Korea has refused to restart tours until its demands for a joint investigation into the shooting are carried out and measures to guarantee the safety of tourists are outlined.
North Korea recently confiscated five South Korean-owned properties and froze ownership of other South Korean real estate at the resort.
Yesterday, North Korea ordered 63 South Koreans to leave the country by Monday morning, though it will allow 16 other personnel to stay at the resort, Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said.
The latest move comes amid tensions between the two Koreas after the sinking of a South Korean ship with the loss of 46 lives. Many South Koreans suspect North Korea, which denies involvement, was responsible.
The two Koreas started the tour program more than a decade ago as part of reconciliation efforts on the divided peninsula, which remains technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
But South Korea halted cross-border tours in 2008 following the fatal shooting of a tourist at the Diamond Mountain resort on the North Korea's east coast.
Pyongyang has since demanded that Seoul resume tours to the facility, which provided a much-needed influx of hard currency to North Korea. But South Korea has refused to restart tours until its demands for a joint investigation into the shooting are carried out and measures to guarantee the safety of tourists are outlined.
North Korea recently confiscated five South Korean-owned properties and froze ownership of other South Korean real estate at the resort.
Yesterday, North Korea ordered 63 South Koreans to leave the country by Monday morning, though it will allow 16 other personnel to stay at the resort, Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said.
The latest move comes amid tensions between the two Koreas after the sinking of a South Korean ship with the loss of 46 lives. Many South Koreans suspect North Korea, which denies involvement, was responsible.
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