|
Seoul: The death of a South Korean tourist shot by a North Korean soldier while visiting the communist nation overshadowed efforts by Seoul's new president to reach out to the North and rekindle stalled reconciliation talks.
South Korea expressed regret and suspended tours on Friday to North Korea's Diamond Mountain resort over the shooting of the 53-year-old woman, who the North said had ventured into a restricted area while on a pre-dawn stroll at a beach.
The death came after a series of hostile North Korean moves against South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. Since he entered office in February taking a tougher line on the North, North Korea has expelled South Korean officials from joint economic projects, labeled Lee a traitor and warned of renewed fighting between the Koreas.
The shooting happened just hours before Lee delivered a speech to the new South Korean legislature in which he extended a peace offering to the North by calling for talks to resume between the divided countries and offered humanitarian aid.
North Korea claimed the shooting victim, Park Wang-ja, crossed 1.2 kilometres into a fenced-off military area, and fled when a soldier shouted at her to stop, according to the company running the tours, Hyundai Asan.
Park continued to run after a warning shot was fired and was fatally shot just 200 meters short of the fence, North Korea said.
South Korea suspended Diamond Mountain tours pending an investigation.
|
