[Exclusive] DPRK demolishes one of last S. Korean facilities in Mt. Kumgang area

[Anchor]

Evidence has been captured in satellite images showing that the DPRK has once again demolished our assets in the Mount Kumgang tourist area.

This time, it is a golf clubhouse.

Now, there are almost no remaining assets of ours in the Mount Kumgang tourist area.

This is a report by Yang Min-cheol.

[Report]

The only remaining building on the approximately 1.68 million square meters of golf course is the clubhouse within the Mount Kumgang golf course built by the domestic resort company Ananti in 2008.

The building, which was intact until early October, has been completely demolished in just over a month, leaving only an empty lot.

Since 2019, when the demolition of South Korean facilities in the Mount Kumgang tourist area began in full force under the directive of Chairman Kim Jong-un, all eight buildings of the golf resort near the clubhouse were demolished by April 2022.

As a result, Ananti incurred a loss of about 50 billion won and decided to shutdown its Mount Kumgang golf course and resort business.

However, the clubhouse remained for two years afterward, raising the possibility that the DPRK authorities might recycle it, but ultimately it did not avoid demolition.

[Jung Seong-hak/Director of Video Analysis Center, Korea Institute for National Unification: "The clubhouse was a complex facility equipped with a reception room, conference room, and gym, but it was left unattended for years, leading to deterioration, and it is presumed that it was deemed difficult to recycle, which led to its demolition."]

As a result, most of the South Korean facilities in the Mount Kumgang area have now been demolished, except for the government-owned assets such as the separated family reunion center.

However, it seems that it will take more time for the DPRK authorities to independently develop the Mount Kumgang area.

[Hong Min/Senior Research Fellow, Korea Institute for National Unification: "(After the demolition of South Korean facilities) they were trying to proceed with something, whether by attracting foreign investment or through internal resources, but it seems that there were significant difficulties in allocating a budget for this. (Additionally), it is judged that it is quite difficult due to the very solid net of sanctions against North Korea...."]

The Ministry of Unification stated that it will clearly hold the DPRK accountable for actions that infringe on the property rights of the government and businesses, even if it takes time.

This is KBS News, Yang Min-cheol.