South Korean tourist killed by North Korean troops

k Chan-Kyong
AFP
Friday, July 11, 2008

A North Korean soldier shot dead a female South Korean tourist who strayed into a restricted military area during a morning stroll at a resort in the communist North, officials said Friday.

Seoul called the incident “deeply regrettable” and suspended tours to the Mount Kumgang resort, one of only two sites in North Korea open to South Korean visitors. It called for a full investigation into the tragedy.

The shooting was the first since tours to the resort, developed by the South as a symbol of reconciliation, began in 1998.

(Article continues below)

It came on the same day that President Lee Myung-Bak offered to hold talks with the North to end months of hostility between the two governments.

He knew about the incident before making his speech but decided to go ahead with it, a presidential spokesman said.

The North told the South Korean tour operator Hyundai Asan that the 53-year-old woman was walking on the beach at around 5:00 am (2000 GMT Thursday) when she strayed into an off-limits zone.

It said she fled despite a warning to halt and was shot in the chest and the hip. The body was later handed over to the South, and taken to a hospital in Sokcho.

Full article here

• 
• Social bookmarks
• 
• Email this article
• 
• Print this page

Comment Terms Of Use

6 Responses to “South Korean tourist killed by North Korean troops”

1. nikoli Says:
   July 11th, 2008 at 9:18 am

   soldier done wrong… should of detained the person or fired a warning shot,,, can’t go killing people…

2. Howard Says:
   July 11th, 2008 at 10:48 am

   Don’t the N K Coms post signs with simple little messages like; Lethal force will be used if you cross this line, you bourgeois, capitalist pig?” It must be a great public relations gimmick to put a tourist spot so close to a sensitive installation. Like a Disneyland in the heart of Baghdad or a time share resort right next to the 38th parallel.

3. Razor Says:
   July 11th, 2008 at 1:46 pm

   What in the hell does N.Korea have to offer in the way of tourism anyway? “Come right this way and watch a family of twenty living in a one room hovel, sick and dying!” Talk about regime change!

4. ItsMike Says:
   July 11th, 2008 at 10:30 pm

   What kind of an idiot would take a vacation in North Korea anyway? It’s not like they don’t know they’re going to get shot.

5. Mark Says:
   July 12th, 2008 at 12:25 am

   Commie pigs will be Commie pigs until you cap em. Stop negotiating with all of these idiots and drop em.

6. Nelsi Says:
   February 25th, 2009 at 3:40 pm

   http://www.liveperutours.com Hello, we offer tourist service here in Lima -Peru as well as in all the world such as hotel reservations, city tours, tour packages, airport transfers, walks and excursions all Peru, cheap flights, chaep travels all peru and so on. http://www.liveperutours.com