North demolishing hotel that was symbol of Korean engagement

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — 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. Seoul officials called for the North to stop the “unilateral” destruction. The floating Haegumgang Hotel was a major property among dozens of facilities South Korea built to accommodate tours to Diamond Mountain during a high period of engagement in the 1990s. But North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2019 called the facilities “shabby” and ordered them destroyed amid frustration over tighter U.S. sanctions that prevent the tours from resuming. North Korea postponed the demolition because of COVID-19 but appears to have begun it in recent weeks.