By The Korean government is further disputing the North Korean accounts of what happened in regards to the shooting of a South Korean tourist as the Geumgang Resort:
He also raised doubts about the North Korean announcement on North Korean guards’ firing of a warning shot and the rounds they fired, saying, “If the North Korean guards had fired a warning shot (as North Korea claims), there should have been three gun shots (including the two shots that Park sustained). But a South Korean witness, who happened to be nearby at that time, testified that he had heard only two shots.”
The spokesman continued to argue that North Korea had violated the inter-Korean agreement. He said, “According to the inter-Korean agreement on the South Korean tourists’ entry and stay at the Mt. Kumgang resort area, the North Korean side should guarantee the personal safety and safe return of all South Korean tourists. If an accident should occur, North Korea is supposed to stop it and begin an investigation. But North Korea has allowed a South Korean tourist to be shot dead.” [Chosun Ilbo]
It is also quite clear that Ms. Park did not climb a fence as the North Koreans claimed as well:
Some parts of the restricted area in the Mt. Kumgang beach in North Korea where a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean guard on Friday are protected not by fences but by a sand dune. Hyundai Asan, the Mt. Kumgang tour operator, on Sunday released four photos of the area near the western line of control at the beach.
Three of them were taken at around 5 a.m. on Sunday, the reported time of Friday’s shooting, and clearly show that it is bright enough to identify a person. In the pictures, a yellow-green fence 3.5 m in height and 70 m long is seen leading from a promenade towards the sea. But the fence does not block the entire way, and between the point where it ends to the water, there is only a sand dune standing 1-2 m in height and 2-3 m in width. A “Do Not Enter” sign is posted 65 meters to the left from the sand dune, where a stroller might well miss it. [Chosun Ilbo]
The North Koreans lying and not keeping an agreement, who would of ever thought of that happening?
3:35 am on July 15th, 2008 1
it is time for sk government grow some balls and deal nk with force. nk are killing innocent sk civilian and lying about it. it is totally unacceptable. it seems that nk arent afraid to have the korean war II.
korea has long history of relying on foreign power to protect them. they relied on china and it backfired and now they are relying on america and it will surely backfire in the future. sk needs to be more militaristic like her neighbors. it is time for the sk government to protect her own citizens with her own army.
6:31 am on July 15th, 2008 2
Hello Kimchi2000,
I suspect you are a young Korean national. Your following statement interests me: “…now they [the North Koreans] are relying on the Americans [to protect them].” This strikes me as an odd statement if it is coming from a young Korean. Usually, the younger generation of Koreans accuses the United States of being hostile to North Korea and creating unwanted strife. Could you give me more precise reasoning as to why the United States would now be supporting the North Koreans? Do you perceive the United States and the Republic of Korea have become alienated from one another?
6:57 am on July 15th, 2008 3
in seoul,
i could legally buy beers and cigars so im not as young as u think.
actually, i meant to say south korea is relying on america to protect them, not north korea.
7:03 am on July 15th, 2008 4
Thanks for the clarification, Kimchi2000.
9:39 am on July 15th, 2008 5
"nk are killing innocent sk civilian and lying about it"
Innocent? who knows. I think she was a spy.
" sk needs to be more militaristic like her neighbors. "
You mean like NK and China? Yes I agree. Pay your own bills Korea. Quit sucking the large white teat of the USA.
"it is time for the sk government to protect her own citizens with her own army."
LOL, NK can kill whom she wants. LOL.
8:08 am on July 16th, 2008 6
GI Korea excuse me if this notion sounds stupid, but if we find out the this woman was possibly ordered to be killed from the top Department for whatever show of how Kim is upset with Lee, then wouldn't that be a valid reason to make this backfire on Kim Jong Il and re-list the DPRK as a state sponsor of terrorism? To let the world know that not even 2 months after the sanction was lifted, he has already proven that he is the incarnate of "Damien" soo evil to speak of and can never be trusted. And certainly not rewarded. Is this not a valid case to relist the DPRK as a sponsor of terrorism?
11:29 am on July 16th, 2008 7
The thing is there is no way to prove NK did it on purpose especially when no one is allowed into NK to investigate the case. The Bush administration is committed to getting NK off the terrorism to the point that they are ignoring nuclear proliferation to Syria. If they are willing to ignore something as outrageous as WMD proliferation they could care less about a dead Korean woman.
6:03 pm on July 16th, 2008 8
Agreed that it will never be known whether the shooting was planned or a spontaneous response from a trigger-happy soldier. It doesn't really matter. North Korea and Hyundai Asan are still to blame. Because the restricted area was not adequately secured or marked, a number of South Koreans had already trespassed prior to Park, and at the time she was shot, there was enough light to see who she was. Moreover, North Korea's timeline of events and claim that the fence's CCTV wasn't in operation are dubious, suggesting a cover-up of a mistake or deliberate murder.
3:25 pm on October 26th, 2008 9
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