The program would link its eastern mountain resort area to the Russian Far East and Southeast Asia. A South Korean company had exclusively run a tour program to the North Korean mountain resort area for 10 years before it was halted in July 2008 after a North Korean soldier killed a South Korean tourist there, the news agency said.
The guideline said a foreign company or a consortium would be entitled to operate a tourist ship with an investment of US$10-20 million over the next 10 years.
The program will run on two routes, one linking the mountain resort to the Russian city of Vladivostok, and the other to Southeast Asia. It also promises special permission to run a casino on the ship.
According to a North Korean web site post cited by Yonhap, North Korea wants to broaden and diversify international tourism connected to the mountain.
SourcE: GMB / AG Brief.
