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The government is reportedly considering a halt to package tours to the North Korean border city of Kaesong unless Pyongyang cooperates in an investigation of the fatal shooting of a South Korean tourist at Mt. Kumgang last week.
Vice Unification Minister Hong Yang-ho attended a meeting at the headquarters of the main opposition Democratic Party on Thursday. He said the government asked Hyundai Asan, the operator of tours to Mt. Kumgang and Kaesong, ¡°to reconsider tour programs for Kaesong at a time when there has been no response and no investigation has been conducted" into the shooting.
A government official said the government ¡°is still in favor of tour programs for Kaesong, despite the suspension of the tour programs for Mt. Kumgang. Kaesong and Kumgang are in two different regions. But legal and systematic guarantees for tourists' safety are still unsatisfactory in Kaesong, so we have to think seriously about tourists' safety there."
Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun said that the government is working on a response to North Korea's consistent rejection of Seoul's request for an investigation. "At an opportune time, the government will disclose comprehensive measures regarding the incident,¡± he added.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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