North Korea's Diamond Mountain: Where is Mt Kumgang? South Korea to host Olympics with Kim
NORTH KOREA and South Korea will form a joint team to compete in the upcoming Winter Olympics as the long-time rivals ditch their diplomatic tensions to march together under the same flag. But where is Diamond Mountain, where the teams will kick off their Olympic celebrations with a cultural event next month?
This week, it was announced North and South Korean athletes will march together at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony under a unified flag.
The revelation comes following a diplomatic breakthrough after days of talks between the two countries, who have been at loggerheads in recent months as Kim Jong-Un continues to push his nuclear missile plans.
The nations also agreed to form a joint North and South Korean women's ice hockey team for the Games in Pyeongchang, which begin in February.
South Korea’s unification ministry announced a range of joint activities between the countries for the games, following talks at the demilitarised zone (DMZ) - including a joint cultural event at the North's scenic Diamond Mountain.
Related articles
Where is Diamond Mountain?
Diamond Mountain - officially known as Mt Kumgang - is a 1,638-metre-high (5,374 ft) mountain in Kangwon-do, North Korea, and is just 31 miles from the South Korean city of Sokcho in Gangwon-do.
One of the best-known mountains in North Korea, it is located on the east coast of the country, in Mount Kumgang Tourist Region.
Diamond Mountain is also part of the Taebaek mountain range which runs along the east of the Korean peninsula.
GETTY
GETTY
What happened at Mt Kumgang?
The Mount Kumgang resort, built on the slopes of Diamond Mountain, was built in 1998 by South Korean company Hyundai.
The $400million luxury tourist complex boasted hotels, spa, a fire station, a tourism office, a golf course, a supermarket and a clinic.
Set up as a centre where citizens of the warring nations could interact, it was a place where North and South Korean relatives could meet for the first time in decades.
The resort, near the Korean Demilitarised Zone, had attracted nearly 2million South Korean tourists from 1998 to 2008.
GETTY
GETTY
But now the pristine 500-square kilometre complex stands as a ghost town, lying abandoned on the hills of Mt Kumgang.
In July 2008, South Korean tourist Park Wang-ja, 53, was shot at the resort by Kim’s army, who then seized the hotel and all its facilities after South Korea stopped all tours to the resort.
Miss Park was walking along a beach and entered a fenced-off North Korean military area near the resort and was shot in her torso and leg by a sentry, officials said.
The North Korean government said the tourist had ignored warnings from the North Korean soldiers to stay away.
