国际英语新闻：DPRK to expel all but 16 S Koreans at Kumgang resort

Tours to the border town of Keasong, where a once-thriving joint industrial park is located, were also suspended in the same year, rapidly souring inter-Korean ties.

Pyongyang has long called for a resumption of the tours, but Seoul insisted on addressing unresolved issues, including safety guarantees for South Korean tourists, before reviving the moribund tour projects. The two sides only confirmed their differences on the issue at working-level talks earlier this year.