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The international press foresees more tension between the two Koreas after the death of Park Wang-ja, the South Korean tourist who was shot by North Korean soldiers near the North¡¯s Mt. Kumgang resort.
Leading U.S. newspapers covered the incident in their international pages on Saturday. The Washington Post predicted the incident will make the situation on the Korean Peninsula more complicated in the short term.
The New York Times titled its report, "South Korean Offer to North Is Marred by Killing of Tourist." "President Lee Myung-bak reversed his tough approach on North Korea on Friday and offered to resume dialogue and provide humanitarian aid, but the move was immediately clouded by the fatal shooting of a South Korean woman by a North Korean soldier in the North¡¯s tourism enclave,¡± it said.
The Wall Street Journal said the shooting ¡°dealt another blow to already-fraying relations between the two countries. Some South Koreans expressed anger and disbelief at North Korea's explanation for the shooting, which occurred near the Mt. Kumgang resort just north of the demilitarized zone."
The newspaper added there were questions why it took so many hours for North Korea to notify Hyundai Asan, the company that runs tours to Mt. Kumgang, of the incident and for Asan to inform the South Korean government.
CNN reported the incident as breaking news, as did Fox News and CBS.
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency on Sunday reported that President Lee Myung-bak expressed regret over the shooting and instructed his Cabinet to conduct a thorough investigation. It said both Koreas criticized each other, holding each other responsible.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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