Businessman relays positive message from NK on Kaesong and DMZ Peace Park

[한겨레] Pyeonghwa Motors CEO observes development of N. Korea's tourist industry on recent visit

By Park Byong-su, staff reporter

Kim Yang-gon, director of North Korea's United Front Department and the person in charge of dealing with the South, was quoted as saying, "If things go well with the Kaesong Complex, things will also go well with the DMZ park [referred to by South Korean President Park Geun-hye]."

After a visit to Pyongyang, Pyeonghwa Motors CEO Park Sang-kwon held a press conference on Aug. 9 where he told reporters what Kim had said during their meeting.

"When it comes down to it, the Kaesong Industrial Complex is in the DMZ, too. It is only if we actively work to make things go well at Kaesong that we can decide whether or not to make the park in the DMZ. At the moment, the Kaesong Complex is not operating, so what use is there to talk about the DMZ Park? If things go well with the Kaesong Complex, things will also go well with the DMZ Park," Park quoted Kim as saying.

Park visited North Korea from July 24 to Aug. 4. He said that he spent two and a half hours meeting with Kim during his trip.

The plan for the DMZ Peace Park was one of President Park Geun-hye's campaign pledges. She has expressed her desire to build a peace park in the DMZ on multiple occasions, including during her address to US Congress in May and her speech at the memorial service for the 60th anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the combat phase of the Korean War.

Kim's reference to this can be understood as showing the strength of North Korea's intention to normalize operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

"No one in North Korea has a negative view of the Kaesong Complex," Park said. "I think that the working-level talks for Kaesong will go well."

Park said that he also met separately with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. According to Park, Kim spoke with him while he was taking a commemorative photo with a group of overseas Koreans who attended the memorial ceremony for Victory Day, which was held in Pyongyang on July 30.

"I am very grateful for the positive relations that you have maintained since the time of the Dear Leader [Kim Jong-il]," Park quoted Kim Jong-un as saying. "You are someone with deep roots. Let's continue to work together hand in hand for the unification of the fatherland."

It is unusual for both Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea, and Kim Yang-gon, the official ultimately responsible for policies toward South Korea, to meet Park, a well-known businessman operating in North Korea who often travels between South and North. This can be viewed as North Korea using Park to send an indirect message that it wants to normalize operations at the Kaesong Complex and improve inter-Korean relations.

Park described changes that have taken place in North Korea, remarking, "the North has changed as much in one year under Kim Jong-un as it did in 10 years in the past." In the case of Pyongyang, he said that a large-scale beautification project has taken place, which has greatly enhanced the city's aesthetic appeal. In addition, access to electricity appears to have improved, and the streetcars in Pyongyang are gradually being replaced by buses.

Along with Pyongyang, Park also visited Wonsan, Keumgang Mountain, and Masikryeong Mountain, among other sites. "North Korea is making large-scale investments in its tourism industry," Park said. "I was told that they are making six tourist zones at Baekdu Mountain, Chilbo Mountain, Wonsan, Keumgang Mountain, Kaesong, and one other site."

In relation to the considerable interest that Kim Jong-un has shown in tourism projects, including promoting the construction of the ski resort at Masikryeong, Park said, "Maybe we can think of this as an opportunity for Kim to have his capability tested by the North Korean people as he opens investment zones at Masikryeong and Wonsan."

In regard to the tourism facilities at Keumgang Mountain, Park said, "North Korea is doing a good job of taking care of them so that there will be no major problems if tourism resumes."

"The windows in the golf clubhouse have been blown out by the wind, but I think the golf course could also be reopened, if money were put into it," he said.

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