SEOUL: South Korea's unification ministry said on Thursday that North Korea was dismantling a reunion facility for separated families inside its Mount Kumgang tourist area and urged Pyongyang to immediately stop.
Koo Byoung-sam, spokesman at the South Korean ministry, also voiced "strong regrets" over North Korea's move, vowing to consider legal steps against Pyongyang's infringement upon the South's property rights.
The reunion facility for separated families had been the only intact South Korean side-owned structure at the Mount Kumgang resort, as North Korea has demolished all other facilities within the tour zone, once considered a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation, reports Yonhap news agency.
"We express strong regrets over the unilateral demolition ... and sternly urge North Korea to immediately stop it, " Koo said, adding that all responsibilities arising from the incident should lie with North Korea.
The spokesperson denounced the demolition as an act against humanity that "tramples upon" the hopes of separated families and violates South Korea's property rights.
"We will review necessary measures, including legal action and cooperation with the international community, " he said.
With a budget of 51.2 billion won (US$35.2 million) from South Korea, the 12-story building was completed in 2008 through an inter-Korean agreement to host reunions of families from South and North Korea. The two Koreas have remained separated since the 1950-53 Korean War and the subsequent division of the Korean Peninsula.
As of the end of December, 36, 941 South Koreans had registered with the government their wish to reunite with family members in the North, while many others have died of old age without ever having the chance to reunite.