We begin with the latest developments on North Korea's sudden request to remove South Korean facilities from Mt. Geumgang resort.<br />South Korea has made a counterproposal to North Korea... three days after the North demanded the removal of facilities from the iconic tourist site that represents inter-Korean cooperation.<br />Pyeongyang had suggested to discuss the matter in a written-form, but Seoul wants to meet for talks.<br />Kim Ji-yeon has our top story.<br />The Ministry of Unification has proposed working-level talks with North Korea about a long-suspended tour program at the North's Geumgang-san Mountain... this, in response to Pyeongyang's demand last Friday that Seoul remove all of its resort facilities there.<br />The ministry's spokesperson Lee Sang-min said in a briefing Monday... that notice was sent through the inter-Korean joint liaison office... proposing a meeting at the mountain... at a (quote)"convenient time"... bringing together the authorities of the two sides as well as executives from the South Korean tour operator, Hyundai Asan.<br />Lee said the government's been consistent with its stance that inter-Korean relations should be resolved in a reasonable way through dialogue... and warned that unilateral measures by the North could hurt relations.<br />"Unilateral measures concerning the property rights of South Korean businesses goes against the sentiment of the South Korean people,... which could potentially harm inter-Korean relations. There's a need to resolve this through sufficient dialogue between the two Koreas."<br />Lee added that the Geumgang-san Mountain area has served as an inter-Korean cooperative project,... as a rendezvous site for families separated by the Korean War... as well as a place for social and cultural exchanges.<br />Launched in 1998, the inter-Korean tour program to the mountain was suspended ten years later after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean guard.<br />The North has yet to respond to Seoul's proposal.<br />Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.<br />
