Seoul proposes talks with Pyongyang over resort

 South Korea on Monday proposed talks with North Korea to discuss the Mt. Kumgang resort that Pyongyang wants to demolish.

The proposal for talks from the Unification Ministry in Seoul to save the resort built by South Korea's Hyundai Asan comes days after Pyongyang publicly expressed its wish to demolish the tourist complex, reports Efe news.

The North said that it was willing to agree on a date for demolition through written communications with the South.

On October 24, North Korea's official media reported a visit by leader Kim Jong-un to Mt. Kumgang, where he ordered the demolition of the facilities.

During the survey of the area, Kim said the buildings had no national character and were built like makeshift tents in a disaster-stricken area.

On its part, Seoul said on October 25 that it had proposed a face-to-face meeting with Pyongyang to resolve the situation and that it would seek a "creative" solution to normalize the use of the complex again.

South Koreans began to visit Mt. Kumgang in 1998, the first major step towards reconciliation between the two countries.

However, the visits were suspended in 2008 when a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier. The North claimed that the woman had entered a restricted military zone, but never allowed an investigation into the matter.  IANS