South Korea’s unification chief seeks resumption of Mount Kumgang tourism

June 1 (UPI) – South Korea’s chief for inter-Korean affairs said he was confident that suspended projects, including South Korean tourism to Mount Kumgang, would resume after the US-South Korea summit in May.

Reunification Minister Lee In-young said Tuesday during a meeting with Hyundai Group chairman Hyun Jeong-eun that he intended to promote independent South Korean tourism after the coronavirus pandemic subsided, Yonhap and Korea Economic Daily reported.

“The normalization of Mount Kumgang tourism has been in the [September 2018] Pyongyang Joint Declaration, “said Lee.” The government insists that the concept must be actively implemented without changes.

Lee said he is looking to expand inter-Korean cooperation “from a humanitarian perspective,” starting with the resumption of inter-Korean family reunions and North-South partnerships in Wonsan and Masikryong, two tourist developments in the north.

Lee also said that “the conditions are right” to resume cooperation after the US president’s summit Joe Biden and president Moon Jae-in the White House last month.

“The role, space and breadth of inter-Korean relations could be vastly expanded,” Lee reportedly said.

Hyun visited the north in August 2018 when the two Koreas began to step up their diplomatic efforts. Her company was the primary operator of Mount Kumgang tours until a South Korean visitor was fatally shot in 2008.

Hyun said Tuesday that her group has “high expectations” after the summit.

“I hope that relations between Korea will improve and that tourism and operations of the Kaesong industrial complex in Mount Kumgang will resume soon,” the Hyundai manager told Lee.

Lee is scheduled to meet with other South Korean executives and officials to discuss inter-Korean economic cooperation.

The association chief will meet with Lee Joong-myung, chairman of the Ananti Group, on Friday. According to Seoul, the Ananti Group previously operated a golf course on Mount Kumgang.