Espresso drinkers can sip their drinks and look at a quiet North Korean mountain village from a brand new Starbucks at a South Korean border observatory.
Clients need to move a army checkpoint earlier than coming into the observatory at Aegibong Peace Ecopark, which is lower than a mile from North Korean territory and overlooks North Korea’s Songaksan mountain and a close-by village in Kaephung county.
The tables and home windows face North Korea on the Starbucks, the place about 40 folks, a number of of them foreigners, got here to the opening Friday.
The South Korean metropolis of Gimpo mentioned internet hosting Starbucks was a part of efforts to develop its border amenities as a vacationer vacation spot and mentioned the store symbolizes “strong safety on the Korean Peninsula by means of the presence of this iconic capitalist model.”
The observatory is the important thing facility at Aegibong park, which was constructed on a hill that was a fierce battle website throughout the 1950-53 Korean Conflict. The park additionally has gardens, exhibition and convention halls, and a struggle memorial devoted to fallen marines.
Gimpo and different South Korean border cities like Paju have been making an attempt to develop their border websites as vacationer property, at the same time as tensions develop between the war-divided Koreas.
North Korean chief Kim Jong Un has been making an attempt to boost stress on South Korea and threatening to assault his rival with nuclear weapons if provoked. North Korea has additionally engaged in psychological and digital warfare towards South Korea, comparable to flying trash-laden balloons into the South and disrupting GPS alerts from border areas close to the South’s largest airport.
Kaephung county is believed to be one of many potential websites from the place North Korea has launched the 1000’s of balloons over a number of months.
South Korea’s army mentioned Friday that the North flew dozens extra balloons in a single day and that some trash and leaflets landed across the capital Seoul and close by Gyeonggi province.