:strip_icc()/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_59edd422c0c84a879bd37670ae4f538a/internal_photos/bs/2023/7/v/7SOcgxStmExA0sJEhcSg/2023-05-31t124457z-1479767491-rc2n91a28rdy-rtrmadp-3-northkorea-politics.jpg "North Korea cancels all economic cooperation agreements with South Korea world")
North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly voted to cancel all agreements signed with South Korea to promote economic cooperation. This information was published by the Korean Central News Agency KCNA on Wednesday (7).
Among the laws that were repealed was a law regulating tourism operations on Mount Kumgang, located on the North Korean side.
The trips to the mountain were one of the symbols of economic cooperation that began during the period of inter-Korean communication in the early 2000s, with about 2 million South Koreans visiting the site.
The project ended in 2008 after a South Korean tourist entered a restricted area and was killed by North Korean guards.
North Korea said it now considers its southern neighbors wartime enemies. Last year, Pyongyang actually halted a 2018 military agreement to reduce tensions in the border area.
In an interview, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol described the change in North Korea's policy as “unusual.”
He added, “What has not changed is that the North tried for more than 70 years to turn us into communists, and in doing so, it realized that its conventional weapons were insufficient, so it began developing nuclear weapons to threaten us.” He said.
Yoon, who has taken a hard line against Pyongyang, said he remains open to dialogue with North Korea, including a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Since taking power in 2011, Kim has pressured North Korea to develop nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles, leading to increased tensions with South Korea and the United States.
Among the laws that were repealed was a law regulating tourism operations on Mount Kumgang, located on the North Korean side.
