A Starbucks in the South Korean border town of Gimpo is offering tourists a unique attraction: the chance to enjoy coffee with a rare view of the North.
Located less than a mile from the border, the Starbucks sits at Aegibong Peace Ecopark, an observatory-turned-tourist site in northeastern South Korea.
To get there, visitors must pass through a military checkpoint. Once inside, they can sip their cappuccinos while looking out through large windows at the North Korean village of Kaephung county or peer through binoculars outside for a closer view.
The decision to open this branch of the Seattle-based coffee giant is part of broader efforts by Gimpo and other border cities to develop tourism industries. Local authorities told The Associated Press the observatory café marks the "robust security on the Korean Peninsula through the presence of this iconic capitalist brand."
Aegibong Peace Ecopark, built on the site of a significant Korean War battle, offers more than a coffee break with a view. Visitors can also enjoy a war memorial, exhibition halls and gardens.
Other unusual locations of the famous coffee shop include a branch in California that sits 8,200ft above sea level, one inside the gates of the Tower of London and Amsterdam's concept store, a former bank in which the original concrete vault walls remain exposed.
The opening of this symbolic Starbucks comes as tensions between North and South Korea continue to run high. Despite an armistice ending active hostilities in 1953, the two Koreas remain technically at war, as no formal peace treaty has been signed.
Last month, the Kim Jong Un regime amended the North Korean constitution to define the South as a "hostile state," in a departure from previous rhetoric touting an eventual unification.
Kaephung County, visible from the observatory, is considered one of the potential launch points for North Korea's trash-filled balloons into the South. Pyongyang says these balloons, launched by the thousands since May, are retaliation for the thousands of balloons launched north by South Korean activists bearing anti-Kim propaganda.
The 32nd wave of trash-bearing balloons was observed Thursday night and Friday morning, the South's joint chiefs of staff said.
Adding to the friction, North Korea last month blew up sections of disused roads and railways that lead to the heavily militarized border.
Tensions on the peninsula have been further compounded by North Korea's growing military alliance with Russia. Last month, it sent 12,000 soldiers to join Moscow's war against Ukraine.
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