North Korea demolishes the last symbols of cooperation with its "southern" neighbor
North Korea decided on Friday to demolish a South Korean-owned hotel located in a North Korean resort, which was considered one of the last "common symbols" between the two Koreas, according to Seoul officials, who called on the North's neighbor to stop the "unilateral" destruction.
South Korea built dozens of facilities at the Diamond Mountain Resort in North Korea, to accommodate tourism by its citizens during the rapprochement between the two rivals in the 1990s.
But North Korean leader Kim Jong Un described South Korean facilities there in 2019 as "obsolete" and ordered their destruction.
North Korea postponed the demolition work in 2020 as part of strict measures to prevent the spread of the Corona virus.
South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said on Friday that North Korea was moving ahead with demolishing the Hee Kum Kang Hotel.
The "floating hotel", set up in a coastal area of the resort, was a major private property among dozens of facilities South Korea built to accommodate tours of the Diamond Mountain resort, which began in 1998.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news