Inter-Korean joint event marks 20th anniversary of Mount Kumgang tourism program

PYONGYANG - A two-day north-south joint event ended on Sunday at the special zone for international tour of Mount Kumgang in southeastern part of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to mark the 20th anniversary of the Mount Kumgang tourism program.

The celebration event was held by DPRK's Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and South Korea's Hyundai Group which invested in the tourism program 20 years ago.

The speakers from both sides of the peninsula said that bright future of the Korean nation rests with the full implementation of the historic Panmunjom Declaration and the "September Pyongyang Joint Declaration", expressing the will to resume the joint tourism program, DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency reported on Monday.

During the event the participants planted trees together to mark the anniversary and toured scenic spots around Kuryong Pool on the famous mountain, the report said.

It was the first time the two sides resumed such a commemoration event after it was suspended in 2015.

The tour to Mount Kumgang was launched in November 1998. It has been suspended since July 2008 when a South Korean female tourist was shot dead by a DPRK soldier after allegedly venturing into an off-limit area.

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