South Korea's point man on North Korea urged the communist neighbor Tuesday
to withdraw its freezing of Seoul-run facilities at its eastern mountain resort, calling for dialogue between the sides to resolve their differences.
Unification Minister Hyun In-taek also warned, however, that his government would sternly deal with any North Korean moves that he said "fundamentally" damage inter-Korean relations.
His comments, made at a convention of overseas Koreans in Seoul, came as the North began inspecting South Korean companies at a joint factory park in its border town of Kaesong near the west coast.
The communist state said April 8 that it would "entirely reevaluate" the Kaesong industrial complex if relations between the divided states remain in limbo.
North Korea already froze South Korean government-run facilities, including a fire station and a duty free shop, at its Kumgang mountain resort on the east coast after a real estate inspection.
"This type (of behavior) cannot lead to greater inter-Korean cooperation," Hyun said in a speech. "The (South Korean) government will resolve the issue of Kumgang mountain tours through dialogue. We're leaving the door
open for dialogue with North Korea."
"The government will sternly deal with unilateral moves by North Korea that fundamentally undermine inter- Korean relations," he said.
Lucrative cross-border tours to Mount Kumgang came to a halt in July 2008 after a South Korean tourist allegedly wandered into a restricted zone and was shot dead by a North Korean soldier.
The two Koreas have held talks this year on resuming the tours, but Seoul says Pyongyang falls far short of satisfying South Korean demands concerning tourist safety and a probe into the shooting.
The sides also discussed ways this year to improve operations at their joint industrial park, the last remaining major symbol of reconciliation between the countries, but they led to no deal.
More than 110 South Korean firms employ some 42,000 North Korean workers in the park, born out of the first inter-Korean summit in 2000. The inspection by North Korean military officers this week suggested Pyongyang may be moving to restrict border access to the park as it did in December 2008.
Such a move would deal another blow to inter-Korean relations that deteriorated after a conservative government took power in Seoul in early 2008 with a pledge to get tougher on Pyongyang.
The relations thawed for some months following a visit to Seoul by a high-level North Korean delegation in August last year. But they began to fray recently, with North Korea starting to launch a broadside on South Korean President Lee Myung-bak directly in its criticism of Seoul, a practice that tapered off last year.
http://app.yonhapnews.co.kr/YNA/Basic/Article/Print/YIBW_showEnArticlePrintView.aspx?contents_id=AEN20100420007800315
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