Japanese tourists to S. Korea feared to dip on N.K. nuke test

The number of Japanese visitors to South Korea may decrease in the wake of North Korea's latest nuclear test, industry sources said Wednesday.Japanese tourists to Seoul have tended to slip whenever tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalate due to Pyongyang's atomic tests or other geopolitical risks. The isolated North carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sunday, drawing strong condemnation from the international community.According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), the number of Japanese visitors to South Korea fell 5.4 percent on-year to some 166,000 in April amid concerns over a crisis on the peninsula.The April figure snapped a three-month gaining streak. The number fell 10.8 percent on-year in May, 6.9 percent in June and 8.4 percent in July.Fears arose in April that the peninsula might slip into a crisis as the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson moved to waters off South Korea amid concerns over a North Korean provocation timed with the April 15 birth anniversary of its late founder Kim Il-sung.The number of Japanese tourists to South Korea declined 7.4 percent from the previous month to around 209,000 in September last year, when Pyongyang conducted another nuclear experiment. -------------------------------------------------- Source: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2017/09/06/0200000000AEN20170906002900320.html?input=rss