The demand was a follow up on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's earlier directive to remove all "unpleasant-looking" facilities built by the South at the mountain and construct the country's own international tour zone there.

Launched in 1998, the tour program to Mount Kumgang was regarded as a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation and economic cooperation until it was halted in 2008 when a South Korean traveler was shot to death by a North Korean soldier.

South Korea invested a huge amount of money in launching the joint tour program at the scenic mountain. Hyundai Asan Corp., in particular, a South Korean firm that owns a 50-year license for its operation, spent about 800 billion won ($683.18 million) in constructing buildings and facilities necessary for the project  

The facilities have been left abandoned since the tour program was halted, though they have been occasionally used as a venue for the reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.  

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim agreed in September last year to normalize the tour program when conditions are met but little progress has been made due to global sanctions against the North amid stalled denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington.

In a meeting with Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul last Thursday, the heads of Hyundai Asan and the state-run Korean Tourism Organization involved in the operation of the tour program expressed frustration with the latest development and urged the government to do its best to protect the property rights of its citizens. (Yonhap)