Friday, July 11, 2008

This Is Awful

From Chosun Ilbo:

A South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier in the North’s Mt.Kumgang on Friday morning. South Koreans have died in accidents and from illness since tours to the scenic resort began in 1998, but this was the first death by North Korean gunfire.

The incident could prove disastrous for inter-Korean ties.

Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun said Park Wang-ja (53) from Seoul's Nowon district died around 5 a.m. while taking a stroll on the beach near the hotel where she was staying. She had left the hotel at 4:33 a.m.

Quoting what North Korean authorities told tour operator Hyundai Asan, Kim said Park strayed into an off-limits military area and, instead of stopping when a North Korean soldier asked her to, fled, and the soldier fired. According to the North, Park wandered 1 km northward into the restricted area. Soldiers repeatedly asked her to stop and fired a warning shot, but she ran away.