South Korea is looking at various ways to improve relations with North Korea, a Unification Ministry spokesperson said on Monday, after local media reported that Seoul was considering allowing individual tours to the North.
Koo Byung-sam, spokesperson for the ministry handling inter-Korean affairs, declined to comment on “a particular issue” but said individual tours were not considered a violation of international sanctions.
Tourism is one of the few legal sources of foreign currency for North Korea, which is under United Nations sanctions over its nuclear and weapons programmes.
President Lee Jae Myung has pledged to improve relations with Pyongyang, which are at their lowest point in years.
Lee has recently suspended anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts along the border and ordered the suspension of leaflet campaigns by activists criticising the North’s leadership.
North Korea last week opened a beach resort in Wonsan, a flagship tourism project promoted by leader Kim Jong Un, but it is not currently accepting foreign visitors, according to a 16 July notice from DPR Korea Tour, run by the North’s National Tourism Administration.
Asked whether South Koreans could travel to Wonsan, Koo said the North would first need to open the site to foreign visitors.
Seoul previously operated tours to the North’s Mount Kumgang resort, but they were suspended in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier.
The death toll from floods and landslides following cyclonic rains in the Indonesian island of Sumatra has risen to 303, the head of the country's dis...
Hong Kong on Saturday mourned the 128 people known to have died in a massive fire at a high-rise apartment complex, a toll that is likely to rise with...
The global recall of Airbus A320 aircraft has triggered widespread disruption across several major airlines, forcing flight cancellations in the Unite...
U.S. investigators have recovered the black box recorders from the wreckage of a UPS cargo plane that crashed in flames on takeoff in Louisville, Kent...
Pope Leo visited Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on Saturday, stepping inside one of the most iconic sites of the Muslim world. He removed his shoes at the e...
The death toll from floods and landslides following cyclonic rains in the Indonesian island of Sumatra has risen to 303, the head of the country's disaster mitigation agency said on Saturday, up from a previous figure of 174.
Hong Kong on Saturday mourned the 128 people known to have died in a massive fire at a high-rise apartment complex, a toll that is likely to rise with 150 still missing days after the disaster.
The global recall of Airbus A320 aircraft has triggered widespread disruption across several major airlines, forcing flight cancellations in the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
U.S. investigators have recovered the black box recorders from the wreckage of a UPS cargo plane that crashed in flames on takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky. At least twelve people died. The crash sent a wall of fire into an industrial corridor and forced the shutdown of the airport.
At least 47 people have died and another 21 are reported missing following ten days of heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides across Sri Lanka, local media reported on Thursday (27 November).
Hong Kong fire authorities said they expected to wrap up search and rescue operations on Friday after the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years tore through a massive apartment complex, killing at least 128 people, injuring 79 and leaving around 200 still missing.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited sailors aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier in the Latin American region on Thursday, amid a military buildup by President Donald Trump’s administration that has heightened tensions with Venezuela.
Rescuers in Sri Lanka are racing against rising floodwaters and treacherous terrain today after a powerful storm system slammed into the island nation, killing at least 46 people and displacing tens of thousands in a disaster that threatens to strain the country’s resources.
The Spanish agricultural sector has been placed on high alert following the confirmation that African Swine Fever (ASF) has resurfaced in the country for the first time in over thirty years.
U.S. investigators have recovered the black box recorders from the wreckage of a UPS cargo plane that crashed in flames on takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky. At least twelve people died. The crash sent a wall of fire into an industrial corridor and forced the shutdown of the airport.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Friday that the group retains the right to respond to Israel’s killing of its top military commander, leaving open the possibility of a new conflict with the country.
Asaad al-Shaibani calls Israel's attack on Beit Jinn 'treacherous assault’ on civilians that threatens regional peace and security.
At least 13 people — including women and children — were killed, and many others wounded early Friday in an Israeli attack on the town of Beit Jinn and the road to Mazraat Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside, according to Syrian media and local sources.
The 12th meeting of the State Commission on the delimitation of the Azerbaijan–Armenia border, along with the corresponding Armenian commission on border delimitation and security, took place on 28 November in Gabala, Azerbaijan.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment