NKorea Opens New Tour of Historic Sites

SEOUL, South Korea – More than 300 South Koreans crossed the heavily fortified border with North Korea on Wednesday on a new tour of historic sites around the North’s western border city of Kaesong, a South Korean tour operator said.

The North Korea tourism program, the second for South Koreans, is seen as a symbol of growing reconciliation between the rival Koreas following the second-ever summit between their leaders in October.

The one-day tour includes visits to a famous waterfall, a temple and a museum in Kaesong, which was the capital of Korea’s Koryo Dynasty, which ruled from 918 to 1392, Hyundai Asan said on its Web site.

The tour company said the trip will be conducted every day except Monday and costs $194 per person.

Hyundai Asan, the North Korean business arm of South Korea’s Hyundai Group, also runs a high-profile tour to North Korea’s Diamond Mountain on the east coast and a joint North-South economic complex in Kaesong.

More than 1.6 million South Koreans have visited the North Korean mountain resort since 1998 when the isolated country opened it to South Korean tourists in an apparent move to earn much-needed hard currency.

North and South Korea remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a truce that has never been replaced by a peace treaty.