THESE are the pictures which reveal a deserted North Korean border town once welcomed millions of tourists and remains haunted by a bloody murder.

The Mount Kumgang tourist complex is the closest North Korean settlement to its heavily-fortified border with South Korea.

11 The Mount Kumgang tourist complex is the closest North Korean settlement to its heavily-fortified border with South Korea Credit: Exclusivepix Media

11 The complex was built by car-maker Hyandai to cater for South Korean tourists Credit: Exclusivepix Media

11 But the murder of a South Korean tourist saw tourism dry up in 2008 Credit: Exclusivepix Media

11 It now lies desolate after North Korea seized the complex in the aftermath of the incident Credit: Exclusivepix Media

11 A few North Koreans remain at the Mount Kumgang complex - which lies just across the border with South Korea Credit: Exclusivepix Media

11 Hyandai paid €930million for a fifty-year lease on the land back in 1998 Credit: Exclusivepix Media

And these eerie pictures, revealed for the first time, show a desolate town lost in time since it was abandoned ten years ago.

South Korean car maker Hyundai paid the communist state more than €930million to build the complex back in 1998.

It soon became an unlikely tourist hotspot for South Koreans, with more than two million flocking to the centre until 2008.

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There, they enjoyed hotels, a golf course and a spa.

Kumgang also has a fire station, a tourism office, a supermarket and clinic.

But the murder of a South Korean tourist in a bloody shooting saw tours to the outpost stopped.

11 Kumgang has hotels, a golf course and a spa Credit: Exclusivepix Media

11 It also has a fire station, a tourism office, a supermarket and clinic Credit: Exclusivepix Media

11 Today, it lies abandoned as it was ten years ago when the final tourists fled back to South Korea Credit: Exclusivepix Media

11 These eerie pictures, revealed for the first time, show a desolate town lost in time since it was abandoned ten years ago Credit: Exclusivepix Media

11 Lakes and forests surround the unlikely former tourist hotspot Credit: Exclusivepix Media

North Korea later claimed Park Wang-na had entered a military zone after ignoring warning shots from its guards.

Pyongyang quickly ordered that the complex should be seized.

Today, it lies abandoned as it was ten years ago when the final tourists fled back to South Korea.