The Unification Ministry said Wednesday the number of tourists visiting North Korea's Mount Kumgang was calculated at 57,285 last year, bringing the cumulative figure since 1998, when the tour project began, to 429,516, including 1,422 foreigners. The ministry said in transporting the tourists, Hyundai Asan's cruise liners made 213 trips to the mountain last year, paying $37 million dollars to the North in fees. Director-general of the ministry's inter-Korean exchange and cooperation division, Cho Myong-kyoon, said that Hyundai is suffering from a monthly deficit of 2-3 billion won due to the sharp decline in the number of tourists to the mountain amid the deadlocked relations between the two Koreas The official said Hyundai is only able to keep the tour alive by asking financial organizations to extend loan repayments.