It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
(visit the link for the full news article)
SEOUL, April 23 (AFP) - North Korea seized South Korean-owned assets at a mountain resort Friday, warning that the two countries were on the brink of war over the sinking of a warship on their disputed border.
The communist state also declared that highly symbolic cross-border tours to the scenic Mount Kumgang resort had been halted for good, accusing South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak of pursuing "confrontation" with the North.
"The situation has reached such extreme phase that it is at...
Geo-Political: South Korean President Kim has put forward the clearest signal yet that he does not plan to make a unilateral military response against North Korea. Leaked documents from the South Korean military, stating that the sinking of the Cheonan was almost certainly the due to a North Korean torpedo attack has dramatically raised military tension between the two states. Analysts have noted that Kim is in a difficult position; military action against the North would certainly frighten financial markets and jeopardize a developing economic recovery. The issue will also sit heavy on local/regional elections that are set for June.
Originally posted by Esrom Escutcheon Esquire
reply to post by JanusFIN
Good break down on the manufacturd imports!
But also the obvious implications of imports from neighbouring countrys.
Think of all the goods that come from China by Sea and Air. If they have to dodge war ships in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow sea, aswell as Anti-aircraft weapons, it'll certainly be dissastorus!
The only point worth mentioning that may be good economically is that countrys like USA, UK and all Europe etc will either have to trade with each other or industrialise and creat imported goods their-selfs. (but thats just my oppinion.)
South Korea denounced North Korea's decision Friday to seize five South Korean facilities at a mountain resort on its soil and warned that Pyongyang will be held responsible for the deterioration of inter-Korean relations.
"It is an illegal and unreasonable measure that undermines the very foundation of the South-North relations," a spokesman for South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a statement after Pyongyang said it will seize the South Korean assets at Mount Kumgang.
"The North has proven itself to be an unfit partner for normal business and transactions," it said.
North Korea also said other non-state South Korean assets at Mount Kumgang will be frozen, and that all employees from the South at the resort will be expelled. The measures were seen as aimed at pressuring Seoul to resume the suspended mountain tour program that had been a source of foreign currency for Pyongyang.
Seoul said it will take "strong measures" against the North. It did not elaborate.
"We cannot accept the (North's) measures, as they are in violation of contracts between North Korea and our businesses, agreements between the governments and of international laws. It is an unjust step that undermines the very foundation of South-North relations," a ministry official told reporters.
The North's move came at the end of a two-day inspection by North Korean military officials of the mountain resort, where dozens of South Korean businesses and private investors own various facilities that are part of the suspended tourism program.
The five facilities to be seized include a family reunion center, funded and owned by Seoul's National Red Cross, as well as a fire station and a duty free shop. They also include a cultural center and a hot spring resort, both owned by Seoul's Korea Tourism Organization.
Pyongyang froze the assets, worth some 124 billion won (US$112 million), on April 13 after an on-site inspection by its officials late last month. The latest inspection ended Friday.
"First, we will confiscate all five assets of the South Korean authorities that have already been frozen in compensation for our loss due to the long suspension of the tour," an unidentified spokesman for the General Guidance Bureau for the Development of Scenic Spots said in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
The once lucrative tourism program for the impoverished North was suspended in July 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean guard near a restricted area. Nearly 2 million South Koreans had visited the mountain resort since the tours began in 1998.
"The confiscated real estate will be put into the possession of the DPRK or handed over to new businessmen according to legal procedures," the statement said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The North said early last month that it will restart the tourism program with a new business partner unless Seoul agreed to resume the tours before the end of April.
"The situation has reached such an extreme phase that it is at the crossroads of a war or peace, much less thinking of the resumption of the tour. It is quite natural that we can no longer show generosity and tolerance to the south side under this situation," the statement said.
Friday's measure also included freezing of all assets owned by over 30 South Korean businesses and private investors.
Hyundai Asan, the main South Korean developer of the joint mountain resort, urged the North to withdraw its decision and the governments of the two Koreas to resolve the issue through dialogue.
"The road to Mount Kumgang must not be severed as the tours greatly helped promote cooperation and reconciliation between the South and the North and peace on the Korean Peninsula," the business group said in a statement.
"We also urge our government to actively seek a solution to the current situation, as the joint economic cooperation project of the South and the North, as well as properties of businesses that invested in Mount Kumgang, now sit on the verge of a breakdown," the statement said.
North Korea also accused the South of trying to link the regime to the recent sinking of a South Korean warship near the tense border with the communist nation in the Yellow Sea.
South Korea "went the lengths of crying out for the total severance of the North-South relations and trumpeting about 'not ruling out a war' while deliberately linking the sinking of its warship to the DPRK," it said.
Suspicions over North Korea's involvement in the March 26 sinking of the warship Cheonan grew after investigators here said an external explosion likely caused the tragic incident that left 39 of the ship's 104 crew confirmed dead and seven others missing.
North Korea said it will take "more rigid follow-up measures" if the Seoul government tries to take any actions against its seizure and freezing of South Korean assets at Mount Kumgang.
Originally posted by JanusFIN
Was that one of the purpose for sinking that boat in first place? I hope not - and peace will prevail in both Koreas, China will take strong actions to prevent war from hapening.
Originally posted by Esrom Escutcheon Esquire
reply to post by JanusFIN
But also the obvious implications of imports from neighbouring countrys.
Think of all the goods that come from China by Sea and Air. If they have to dodge war ships in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow sea, aswell as Anti-aircraft weapons, it'll certainly be dissastorus!
The only point worth mentioning that may be good economically is that countrys like USA, UK and all Europe etc will either have to trade more with each other or industrialise and create imported goods their-selfs. (but thats just my oppinion.)
Originally posted by JanusFIN
reply to post by RowdyRhodie
Dont forget what Obama made by selling weaponry to Taiwan, meeting Dalai Lama and accusing China from their actions in money markets. Pushing Iran sanctions is causing damage to Chinese economy, which needs all the oil what it can get from there. What I see is that world is breaking to two alliances.