Anchor: Just days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the demolition of South Korean facilities at the North's Mount Geumgang resort, Pyongyang has proposed the two sides discuss the details in writing.
Choi You Sun has the latest.

Report: North Korea sent a notice to South Korea on Friday, suggesting the two sides discuss the removal of resort facilities built by the South at Mount Geumgang on the North's east coast.

According to Seoul's Unification Ministry, Pyongyang said the matter should be discussed through an exchange of documents, not a face-to-face meeting.

The ministry vowed to actively respond to the proposal through inter-agency consultations, including tour operator Hyundai Asan, while prioritizing the protection of South Korean assets at the mountain resort.

Seoul suspended tours to Mount Geumgang in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean tourist by a North Korean soldier.

Earlier this week, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un criticized the "policy of the predecessors" as reliant on the South for the development of the tourist site, calling for the removal of all "unpleasant-looking" South Korean-built facilities through consultations with Seoul.

The North's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Friday that its leader visited a spa resort under construction, highlighting a desire to develop the communist state's tourism industry.

The regime has been calling for economic self-reliance and is believed to have expressed frustration over the prolonged suspension of the inter-Korean Geumgang venture.

Although the leaders of the two Koreas agreed last September to resume tours to the mountain as soon as conditions are met, there hasn't been much progress due to U.S. and UN sanctions that ban economic projects involving the North.

Seoul, meanwhile, said its intent to restart inter-Korean tour operations remains unchanged, albeit stressing that the safety of South Korean visitors and the protection of South Korean assets should first be guaranteed.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.

[Photo : YONHAP News]