N Korean Agents Threaten Regional Economy In The South

We have received a lot of complaints from the residents in this region, mostly fishermen and farmers, in connection with the guerrilla incident, Kim Kil-hyon, a spokesman for the Kangnung city government said.

They are biting their nails ahead of Chusok holidays, he said, referring to the Korean Thanksgiving, the most important holiday, which lasts for four days starting from next Thursday.

Kim said city authorities have yet to calculate exact losses stemming from the incident, which began on Wednesday when around 26 North Korean infiltrators came ashore from a submarine. On Saturday a small group of the infiltrators was still at large. Squid-fishing housholds in the Kangnung area appeared to be suffering a combined daily income loss of about 800 million won ($975,000) since authorities have prohibited fishing boats from leaving ports, Kim said.

 

He said September was a big season for catching squid in the country.

Since the infiltration, authorities have imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the region, an action that has also upset owners of night-time entertainment places.

The curfew has left guest rooms at most accommodation facilities for tourists in the mountainous area almost empty.

Nearby Sorak Mountain is one of the country's best-known resort areas, frequented by millions of South Korean climbers, skiers and other tourists throughout the year.

Our room occupancy rate has fallen by about 30 per cent