Borderline security tour to carefully resume operation of Goseong Unification Observatory

▲This photo, provided by Yonhap News Agency, shows visitors at the Unification Observatory. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

▲This photo, provided by Yonhap News Agency, shows the closed DMZ tour due to the provocation of North Korea. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, November 4 (Yonhap) -- Part of tourist destinations in the Gangwon and Gyeonggi regions are resuming operations while tensions between North Korea and South Korea are rising as North Korea continues to provoke force continuously. 
 
The Unification Observatory in Goseong-gun received visitors starting on Friday, three days after the suspension of operation, as the control of access to the civilian access control line (Civilian Communication Line) was lifted.
 
10 people visited the observatory on Friday until 9 a.m., received the security education, and looked around the northern land through the digital telescope. 

Residents who could not work at the time when they were busy harvesting perilla seeds and beans due to the restriction on access to the civilian control line also went into the civilian control line early in the morning and busily worked.
 
DMZ Ecology Peace Park, Victory Observatory, Peace Observatory, and Dutayeon in Yanggu have not received visitors for four days. 
 
Inje County is discussing whether to resume the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) theme route starting from November 7, after the weekend, November 7–8, as it has been confirmed to be closed until November 6. 
 
Dora Observatory and the third tunnel in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, have been closed for three days and are not allowing visitors' access, while Imjingak Gondola has been operating normally since November 3. 
 
Agibong Peace Ecological Park in Gimpo has also been closed since November 3 and will restrict reservations and admission until the military security situation is lifted. 
 
North Korea fired three SRBMs into the East Sea from 9:35 p.m. to 9:49 p.m. on November 3, followed by 80 artillery shots from Geumgang County, Gangwon Province, starting at 11:28 p.m., according to the ROK Joint Chief of Staffs. 
 
This provocation by North Korea is analyzed as a backlash for the indefinite extension of the South Korea-U.S. joint exercise "Vigilant Storm," which was supposed to end on November 4.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Dowon Kim.)

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