President Moon Jae-in (C), Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief Park Yong-maan (6th from L), and other business leaders toast with beers during their meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on July 27, 2017. Moon promised to continue holding frequent discussions with the country’s top business leaders on issues that may affect their businesses. (Yonhap)
A Chinese tour agency that specializes in North Korean tours announced the cancellation of the second Taedonggang Beer Festival on Sunday, which was initially planned to take place in Pyongyang from Wednesday throughout the end of August.“The reason for the cancellation is unclear and we don’t expect a full explanation,” Koryo Tours said in a brief statement on its official blog, “but it is possibly due to the country’s ongoing drought, which has caused a great deal of trouble.”
North Korea has yet to comment through its state media. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported as recently as last week that a newly produced wheat beer would be featured at this year’s festival. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
President Moon Jae-in is set to hold his first dialogue with top business leaders here this week over beer to help break the ice and possibly allow more frank discussions, an official from the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, said Tuesday.
The talks will be held Thursday and Friday, each day involving part of the top executives from the 14 largest business conglomerates, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun. [Yonhap]