Female S.Korean tourist shot dead by N.Korea troops

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.

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.

"We find it deeply regrettable that a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier," said Kim Ho-Nyoun, spokesman for the unification ministry which handles cross-border relations.

"We express deep condolences."

Kim urged North Korea to cooperate fully in investigating the tragedy.

"Until the completion of the investigation, tours to Kumgang will be suspended," he said.

Media reports identified the married woman as Park Wang-Ja.

Kim Jung-Tae, another official at the briefing, said the Seoul government would launch its own investigation as soon as possible.

He said there had been no official word from the North about the matter, noting: "We will send a telephone message to North Korea at an early date."

About 1.8 million people, mostly South Koreans, have visited Mount Kumgang since 1998. It was developed by South Koreas Hyundai Group and is operated by subsidiary Hyundai Asan.

The North informed Hyundai Asan of the shooting about four hours after it happened, said spokesman Kim Young-Soo. It told them she was spotted 1.2 kilometers (three quarters of a mile) inside the restricted area.

Hyundai Asan took a doctor to recover the body, which was lying 200 meters (yards) inside the restricted area in front of a guard post

The spokesman said there are currently 1,290 tourists from the South at Kumgang and they would choose whether to continue their stay.

Kumgang means Diamond Mountain and is considered the peninsulas prime beauty spot. It is one of two major joint projects aimed at promoting reconciliation, along with the Kaesong industrial estate just north of the border near the west coast.

Hyundai Asan also operates tours to Kaesong city near the industrial estate. Kim Jung-Tae said those would not be affected.

President Lee, in a speech to parliament Friday before news of the shooting emerged, offered the North talks on ways to implement summit agreements reached by his predecessors.

He also offered to help alleviate the isolated North’s acute food shortages.

Lee’s proposal for dialogue on summit pacts marked a clear departure from his initial tougher policy which led Pyongyang to term him a "traitor" and "US sycophant" and cut off official contacts.

"Full dialogue between the two Koreas must resume," Lee said.

His government, he said, "is willing to engage in serious consultations on how to implement the inter-Korean agreements made so far," including summit pacts reached by his liberal predecessors in 2000 and 2007.

Lee had previously said he would study whether to carry out joint economic projects agreed with Pyongyang based on their feasibility and the cost to South Korea.

Photo: AFP