Resort developer Ananti ditches North Korean project

South Korean luxury resort developer Ananti said Tuesday that it has decided to pull out from its resort and golf club project in the Kumgangsan tourist zone of North Korea, a business that once symbolized inter-Korean rapprochement.

The decision comes after a news report that Pyongyang appears to have started demolishing South Korean facilities at the Kumgangsan Ananti Golf & Spa Resort on the North’s eastern coast.

On Monday, US news outlet NK News published satellite images suggesting that North Korea is believed to have begun tearing down some 10 buildings at the resort, while the clubhouse building was still intact.

Ananti started the Kumgangsan project in 2005 following government approval, injecting some $75 million into the construction alone. The resort, consisting of an 18-hole golf club and a resort with 96 rooms, was completed in May 2008, becoming a popular tourist attraction for both Koreas.

But its operation was suspended after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier on July 11, 2008, leading to a halt in the entire inter-Korean tourist program.

Last month, the North Korean government was found to have started demolishing the Haegeumgang Hotel, another South Korean facility built by Hyundai Asan, an affiliate of Hyundai Group specializing in inter-Korean businesses. The company also participated in the Kumgangsan project together with Ananti.

Hyundai Asan has not yet announced its stance on the suspended North Korean business, saying it will keep close tabs on the matter.

Ananti operates membership-based premium resorts and golf clubs across the country, including Busan and Namhae, South Gyeongsang Province. Investment guru Jim Rogers, who has shown keen interest in North Korean investments, holds 2,000 shares in the company, as of September last year, and serves as an outside director.

By Byun Hye-jin (hyejin2@heraldcorp.com)