YONHAP NEWS

S. Korea to halt delivery of aid, other materials to the North

   By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to suspend shipment to North Korea of material needed for agreed-upon inter-Korean projects, as well as government-level humanitarian aid, a source here said Friday.

   The move comes in retaliation for Pyongyang's refusal to cooperate in the investigation into the recent killing of a South Korean tourist by a North Korean soldier, the source added.

   The soldier gunned down a 53-year-old housewife who strayed into an off-limit military zone at the Mount Geumgang tourist resort on the North's eastern coast a week ago.

   The North handed over her body to the South, but is refusing to cooperate with Seoul's efforts to gather more information on the incident. South Korea has already halted its tourism business to the scenic mountain.

   The South was initially scheduled to deliver equipment and materials this month to modernize an inter-Korean military communication line and furnish a newly-built family reunion center at Mount Geumgang.

   "The delivery plan will be shelved until the shooting incident is resolved," the source said.

   South Korea also shifted to a cautious stance on its plan to send 50,000 tons of corn to the hunger-stricken neighbor, according to the source.

   The government initially proposed direct shipment of the food aid but the North did not respond. It has since sought to send it via the World Food Program as an alternative.

   The Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, officially said no decision has been made yet about the food aid.

   "A review is still under way," ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun told reporters earlier in the day.

   The government hinted at the possibility of discontinuing the tourism business to Kaesong, a border town of North Korea.

   "If the security of tourists there is thought to be at risk, the government will reconsider the tour program," Lee Dong-kwan, spokesman for the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, said Friday after the first National Security Council meeting since President Lee Myung-bak took office in February.

   lcd@yna.co.kr
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