Hyundai Asan has expressed bewilderment over North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's order to North Korean authorities to remove South Korean-built tourist facilities at Mount Geumgang. 

The company, which operated tours to the scenic mountain resort, said in a statement on Wednesday that it is perplexed by the sudden announcement as preparations were being made to resume tours to the mountain.

The statement said the company will calmly address the latest development and will seek contact with the North via the inter-Korean liaison office in Gaesong if deemed necessary. 

Hyundai Asan has pumped about 770 billion won into the Mount Geumgang tourist facilities.

The Korea Tourism Organization and other South Korean companies have also invested in the resort.

The North seized the South Korean government’s assets in Mount Geumgang and has frozen Hyundai Asan's assets in the mountain resort. 

Tours to Mount Geumgang were suspended in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier. South Korean personnel at the mountain resort left in 2011 and since then the North has been managing the facilities.

[Photo : KBS News]