The South Korean government has criticized North Korea’s unilateral threat to scrap all inter-Korean agreements on tourism.

Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said North Korea would violate not only bilateral agreements, but also North Korean law if it unilaterally terminates tourism contracts between Pyongyang, Seoul and Hyundai Asan.

The spokesman also said that the ministry would work closely with South Korea’s Hyundai Asan, which runs the North Korean tour businesses, to assure the safety of South Korean nationals who are currently residing in North Korea as facility managers at the Mount Geumgang resort.

Earlier on Thursday, the North threatened to scrap the agreements unless Seoul vowed to restart the tour programs to the communist nation.