GIMPO, South Korea, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The world's last

Cold War frontier now has a Starbucks ( SBUX ) cafe in South Korea where

customers can get a glimpse through the heavily militarised

border into the North, all while sipping a latte.

Hundreds showed up on Friday for the opening of the U.S.

coffeehouse chain's newest store in an observatory near the city

of Gimpo, around 50 km (31 miles) northwest of Seoul and close

to the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.

The DMZ has become an unlikely draw for foreign and local

tourists, despite a spike in tensions on the Korean peninsula in

recent years.

Visitors must pass through a military checkpoint on the way

to the Starbucks ( SBUX ) outlet, although it is in a lesser known and

less militarised than more popular tourist spots along the

border such as the Panmunjom truce village.

A river designated as "neutral waters" runs between the

observatory and the border town of Kaepung in the North just 1.4

km away. On a clear day, North Korean villagers can be seen from

the observatory through its telescopes.

The two Koreas are still technically at war after a

three-year conflict ended in a 1953 armistice. A peace treaty

has never been signed.

In recent months, tensions have also grown over balloons of

trash floated from North Korea, which Pyongyang says are a

response to balloons carrying anti-regime leaflets sent by

activists in the South.

North Korea blew up inter-Korean roads and rail lines on its

side of the border last month, while Seoul warned Pyongyang that

any use of its nuclear weapons would spell the end of the North

Korean regime.

Baek Hea-soon, a 48-year-old Gimpo resident, arrived early

on Friday to try out the new Starbucks ( SBUX ) outlet.

"I wish I could share this tasty coffee with the people in

North Korea," she said.

North Korea has over recent decades suffered serious food

shortages, including a famine in the 1990s, often exacerbated by

natural disasters such as floods that damage harvests.

Starbucks ( SBUX ), with its global recognition, could change the

border area's "dark and depressing" image, Gimpo Mayor Kim

Byung-soo said.

"This place could now become an important tourist

destination for security (and) peace that can be seen as young,

bright and warm, as well as garnering global attention," Kim

told reporters.

Starbucks ( SBUX ) is ubiquitous across South Korea, with 1,980

stores as of the third quarter of 2024, according to SCK

Company, which operates Starbucks ( SBUX ) in the country through a

licensing deal.

In 2021, Starbucks Corp ( SBUX ) sold its stake in Starbucks

Korea to Starbucks Coffee Korea Co, now known as SCK Company,

and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.