By Jon Herskovitz
MOUNT KUMGANG, North Korea (Reuters) - Neither war, armedtroops or befuddled border guards could stop South Korean dogsled teams from going to North Korea and mushing on Sundaywhere none of them have mushed before.
About 80 dogs from the South made what is almost certainlythe largest canine crossing of the heavily armed border for therace at the Mount Kumgang resort, which is run by an affiliateof the South's Hyundai Group.
With nary a snowflake on the course, about 35 dog teamspulled sleds on wheels along a coastal road with the scenicDiamond Mountain range as a backdrop.
No North Koreans competed. The few who saw the race weresoldiers standing at wind-swept guard posts.
In the impoverished north, dogs are known as man's bestfriend for very different reasons than the West.
"The North Koreans think dogs are for eating, and not forsport," said Yunis Cho, one of the South Korean dog sledracers.
The Kumgang resort is supposed to be a place that bringspeople closer together from the two countries that technicallyhave not ended their 1950-1953 war.
But the dog race showed just how far they have driftedapart.
North Korea is one of the world's most isolated and pooreststates where dog sledding is unknown, and expensive hobbieslike it are unthinkable.
In the affluent South, some people pay sums greater thanthe average annual wage of a North Korean worker for a pedigreepooch.
As South Koreans grow richer and worldlier, sports like dogsledding are taking off, with many mushers saying they werefirst exposed to it through events like Alaska's famed Iditarodrace.
CONFUSION
It took years of planning to hold a race in North Korea,but that did not prevent confusion at the border where theNorth's quarantine inspectors tried to figure out what to makeof the canine cargo.
"They don't know about foreign dogs, especially huskies,malamutes or borzoi. They have only seen Korean breeds," saidKim Tae-ryong, president of the South's Korea Federation ofSleddog Sports.
The dogs spent the night before the race in cages outsideone of the South Korean-run hotels in Kumgang howling at themoon and barking at tour buses.
Kim said the race in the North would help bring attentionto the sport in the South while also introducing it to theirKorean brothers across the border.
Lee Ki-woon, who is one of the few people in South Koreawho breeds the North Korean dog called "poongsan", took two ofthe snow white canines to Kumgang.
"It probably feels like a homecoming for them," Lee said,but when one of the dogs broke out of his collar and ran freelybefore his owner rounded him up, it looked more like adefection.
North Korean workers who are being watched by the country'sspy apparatus to make sure they do not become too cordial withSouth Koreans, mostly kept their lips sealed about thecompetition.
Apart from the typical, "No comment," one brave NorthKorean went as far as to say: "I like dogs."
(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
