N.Korea Shuts Down S.Korean Facilities in Mt. Kumgang

North Korea on Tuesday made good on its threat to shut down
facilities owned by the South Korean government and the Korea
Tourism Organization in the Mt. Kumgang resort area. Officials posted
stickers saying "seized" on the entrances to five buildings including a
meeting hall for families separated by the Korean War that was built at
great expense by the South Korean government only a couple of
years ago.

The North also told four Korean-Chinese staffers of tour operator
Hyundai Asan who looked after the building to leave North Korea by
10 a.m. on Wednesday. Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Haesung
called the steps "regrettable" and urged the North to "immediately retract its decision."
People gather on April 7 at a meeting hall for families separated by the Korean War under construction in the Mt. Kumgang resort area.

According to the ministry, North Korean officials shut down two South
Korean government buildings, the meeting hall and a fire station, and
three KTO facilities, a hot spring spa, a cultural hall and a duty-free
shop, between 10 a.m. and noon Tuesday.

A ministry official said, "In case of the meeting hall for separated
families, we already took some safety measures to prevent damage to
the facilities before the North shut it down. We drained water from the
plumbing and turned off electrical devices to prevent short circuits."

No great damage was apparently done to the fire station, as fire
trucks and other facilities worth W1.7 billion (US$1=W1,122) had been
moved to a building owned by Hyundai Asan, which has apparently
been spared thanks to its long working relationship with the North.

Speaking at the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs, Trade and
Unification Committee Tuesday, Unification Minister Hyun In-taek
said, "If the North keeps taking unreasonable measures, we'll respond
strongly because they seriously damage inter-Korean relations."
The North has already threatened to "reconsider" the joint Korean
Kaesong Industrial Complex project if lucrative package tours to Mt.
Kumgang are not resumed.

"The North will probably keep ratcheting up the pressure for the time
being," a security official said. "There's also a chance that it will try to
lure some Chinese tourists to Mt. Kumgang or ban South Korean
tourists from entering the mountain resort."

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