Alva Review-Courier -

MOUNT KUMGANG, North Korea (AP) — The two-lane highway south from North Korea's Mount Kumgang into and across the Demilitarized Zone is lined by tall green fences and street lamps that are only turned on for special occasions. Children play on a parallel stretch of railroad that hasn't been in regular use since before they were born. Behind a solitary guard stands a sign saying it's 68 kilometers (40 miles) to Sokcho, a town just across the DMZ in South Korea.

At the height of South Korea's policy of engagement with the North, the "Diamond Mountain Resort" area was a symbol of cooperation. Mor...