N. Korea Summons SK Officials on Asset Freeze

North Korea yesterday demanded that South Korean officials appear at the North`s Mount Kumgang resort, saying it will carry out its threat to freeze the South`s real estate assets there.

Pyongyang also threatened to restrict ground passage on a road and railroad linking the two Koreas if South Korean civic groups continue to send propaganda fliers denouncing North Korea.

In a notice to the Hyundai Group of South Korea, the Guidance Bureau for Comprehensive Development of Scenic Spots, North Korean operator of tours at the resort, demanded that officials of South Korean agencies owning property at the resort, including a family reunion center, spa and duty-free shop, be present at the site of the asset freeze Tuesday, according to the Unification Ministry in Seoul.

"We have no plan to comply with the demand," a South Korean government official said. The latest notice mentioned nothing on expulsion of managers at South Korean-owned facilities, he said, unlike a statement released by the bureau Thursday.

The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency quoted Saturday the head of the North Korean delegation for inter-Korean general-level military talks as saying in a notice to the South that Pyongyang will officially review whether to implement a military agreement guaranteeing South Koreans` safe passage across the Demilitarized Zone.

North Korea alleged that South Korea is disseminating a large amount of "impure" fliers denouncing Pyongyang and "dirty" videos in an attempt to promote anti-North Korean sentiment.

kyle@donga.com