S Koreans withdraw from resort in North

South Korean personnel began withdrawing from North Korea's Mount Kumgang resort after Pyongyang asked them to leave, officials said yesterday.

The withdrawal followed a North Korean statement on Saturday that “unnecessary” South Korean personnel would be expelled from the mountain resort just north of the border.

South Korea expressed regret saying the North’s move would further escalate tensions over the July 11 fatal shooting of a housewife who the North said strayed into a restricted military area at the resort.

The South said 11 personnel including two from the state-run Korea Tourism Organization and nine in charge of a newly built facility for reunions of separated families in the resort had been asked to leave by early today.

“One left on Saturday and another two are supposed to leave today,” said a spokesman for the South Korea’s unification ministry, which is in charge of cross-border relations.

“More people will leave the resort by Thursday,” he said.

The withdrawal will bring the number of South Koreans staying in the area to about 120, the ministry said.

There have been no government officials staying in the area since the South suspended tourist trips to Kumgang in protest at the shooting.

The North blames the South for the incident and has rejected Seoul’s call for a joint on-site probe.

The North’s military said in its statement on Saturday that the movement of South Koreans and their vehicles passing through the inter-Korean border in Kumgang would be strictly limited and controlled.

It accused South Korea of pushing inter-Korean relations to “a graver phase,” referring to a joint statement issued last week by US President George W. Bush and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak after their summit in Seoul.

The two leaders expressed regret at the shooting and urged the North to engage in talks to resolve the case swiftly.

Tensions have been mounting since the shooting death of Park Wang-ja, who was killed by one or more soldiers during a dawn stroll on a beach.

The North said she fled when challenged and did not stop despite warning shots.

The two countries have remained technically at war since their 1950 to 1953 conflict ended only in an armistice and not a peace treaty.

They held a series of rapprochement events including the opening of cross-border railways after a historic inter-Korean summit in 2000.

But inter-Korean relations have been at their lowest ebb since Lee came to power in February and suspended aid to the North.