North Korea is demolishing a South Korean-owned hotel at a North Korean resort that was one of the last symbols of inter-Korean engagement, according to Seoul officials who called for the North to stop the 'unilateral' destruction.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA -- North Korea is demolishing a South Korean-owned hotel at a North Korean resort that was one of the last symbols of inter-Korean engagement, according to Seoul officials who called for the North to stop the "unilateral" destruction.
Unification Ministry spokesperson Cha Deok-cheol said it wasn't clear whether the North also was destroying other facilities at the site. He said Seoul "strongly regrets North Korea's unilateral dismantlement" of the hotel and urged the North to engage in talks to resolve disagreements over the South Korean properties at the site.
The demolition comes amid heighted tensions over recent missile launches. North Korea conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile test since 2017 on March 24, as Kim revives brinkmanship aimed at forcing the United States and other rivals to accept the North as a nuclear power and remove crippling sanctions.