|
|
|
(2nd LD) Funeral held for S. Korean tourist killed in North
SEOUL, July 15 (Yonhap) -- The funeral of a South Korean tourist shot dead last week by a North Korean soldier was held Tuesday in Seoul, after days of protest by the bereaved family demanding a clear account of the shooting that is rocking the divided peninsula.
The shooting took place on Friday when 53-year-old Park Wang-ja took an early morning stroll at a beach near a famed mountain resort on the eastern coast just north of the heavily armed inter-Korean border.
A North Korean soldier fired a pair of bullets at the tourist after declaring she had breached military limits, according to a North Korean account given to South Korean tour organizer Hyundai Asan, killing her and leading Seoul to suspend the business often hailed as one of a few symbols of inter-Korean reconciliation.
Pyongyang has blamed the death on Park and the South while South Koreans remain outraged over the refusal by the North to allow an on-site investigation into the unprecedented incident.
The funeral in Seoul was arranged after Park's family changed its earlier decision to delay the burial until the two governments provide a satisfactory account of the shooting.
Sobbing and facing down, Park's 23-year-old son, Bang Jae-jeong, stood in front of the portrait of his mother, kissing it and refusing to let her coffin be carried out of the hospital in eastern Seoul.
Watching the scene, his father, Bang Young-min, apparently suppressed his feelings murmured words urging the son to step aside so Park's body could be shuffled off to a cemetery just north of Seoul.
"Who will care for him? His mother's dead," a woman who appeared to be one of Park's sisters said in tears, hugging others clad in white funeral dresses.
Park's coffin was covered with a black cloth, and fellow members of her church from just south of Seoul sang a Christian hymn in trembling voices.
Watching the coffin being loaded onto a car, the only child grabbed his ill-fated mother's portrait again, falling on his knees and causing his father to finally break down in tears. Park's 80-year-old mother was absent, not even knowing of her daughter's death because she was feared to be unable to bear the shock.
North Korea claims that Park -- a typical housewife according to her family -- crossed into a fenced-off area and fled despite warning shots after refusing to halt for inspection.
But questions have been raised in South Korea over the shooting, as other tourists who have been to Mount Geumgang have relayed stories to the media of being detained after unknowingly breaching military boundaries.
Many also lashed out at Hyundai Asan, citing photos that show a large portion of the fence missing. Some also blamed the new conservative South Korean government for the shooting, saying it could have been avoided if its relations with the North had not been frayed.
Hyundai Asan, a subsidiary of one of South Korea's largest conglomerates, Hyundai Group, has been operating the tour to Mount Geumgang, also known as Diamond Mountain, since 10 years ago.
The mountain, considered one of the most scenic by Koreans, has lured nearly 2 million since the tour began and is a rare source of hard cash for North Korea struggling to deal with food shortages and other bread-and-butter issues.
North and South Korea remain in a technical state of war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce despite years of reconciliation talks.
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)
|
| |
|
|
Home
