Hyundai group chair to visit DPRK to mark 20th anniversary of Mount Kumgang tour

SEOUL - Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun will visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) later this week to mark the 20th anniversary of the currently suspended tour program to Mount Kumgang in the DPRK's southeast region.

An unnamed unification ministry official of the Republic of Korea (ROK) told local reporters on Thursday that the ministry approved the visit by more than 100 ROK's people, including Hyun, to the DPRK's scenic resort of Mount Kumgang on Nov 18-19.

The visit was approved to allow about 30 Hyundai officials as well as former South Korean unification ministers and lawmakers to attend the ceremony to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the launch of the tourism program, one of symbols for inter-Korean economic cooperation and reconciliation.

The tour to Mount Kumgang was launched in November 1998 by Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung, the late father-in-law of the current Hyundai chairwoman.

It has been suspended since July 2008 when a ROK's female tourist was shot dead by a DPRK soldier after allegedly venturing into an off-limit area.

After the Pyongyang summit in September, ROK's President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un agreed to resume the Mount Kumgang tour and the inter-Korean industrial complex in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong when "conditions are met."

The unification ministry official was quoted as saying that the visit had nothing to do with the resumption of the tourism program.