North Korean leader orders destruction of joint tourist site with South Korea

Mr. Kim Jong-un described these buildings as "makeshift". Photo: Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the demolition of South Korean-built tourist facilities and buildings on Mount Kumgang, state news agency KCNA reported on October 23. Kim visited the resort and, according to KCNA, the Pyongyang leader described the resort’s facilities as “shabby” and “lacking national character.” He said the “eyesores” should be demolished and rebuilt in a modern way “in keeping with the natural landscape of Mount Kumgang.”

The leader commented that the facilities were “built like makeshift tents in a disaster-hit area or quarantine zones.”

US sanctions have made plans to visit the mountain difficult. Photo: AP

South Korean tourists’ trips to North Korea’s Mount Kumgang were long seen as a symbol of cooperation, but Seoul’s unwillingness to criticize US sanctions on Pyongyang has stalled the project for more than a decade.

Seoul suspended tours to the site in 2008 after a tourist was shot dead, but Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in pledged to restart visits after talks last year.

Since then, the US has increased sanctions on North Korea following its nuclear tests, and Seoul cannot now start tours to North Korea without violating US sanctions.

South Korean officials responded to the North Korean leader’s remarks, saying they needed to take a closer look at North Korea’s intentions. Lee Sang-min, a spokesman for the Unification Ministry in Seoul, said South Korea would “actively protect the property rights of its people,” adding that he planned to accept any talks North Korea proposed regarding the facilities.

However, Mr Kim Jong-un said it was a “mistake” to view the tourist spot as a symbol of North-South relations. “We will always welcome our compatriots from the South if they want to come to Mount Kumgang after it has been wonderfully built into a world-class tourist destination,” Mr Kim added.

The Mount Kumgang tourism project was built after decades of hostility during the Korean War. South Koreans began visiting the mountain in 1998 by sea and by land in 2003, until tours were suspended in 2008.