>SEOUL: North Korea's fatal shooting of a Seoul tourist may have been captured on closed-circuit TV, South Korean officials revealed yesterday.
If so, the footage would clarify many inconsistencies that have cropped up, including the exact time it took place.
The killing at the North's Mount Kumgang resort, after the woman strayed into a closed military area, has caused shock in the South and further soured relations.
A spokesman for South Korea's Hyundai Asan, which operates the resort, said a North Korean CCTV system covers the scene of the shooting.
"We have asked North Korea to hand over the CCTV footage, if any, to us but it has yet to respond," spokesman Kim Young Soo told reporters. It is not known whether the system was operating then.
Thus far, the witnesses interviewed in South Korea maintain that they heard gunshots later than 5 am on July 11 - rather than the 4.50am claimed by the North.
The media have speculated as to whether the North intentionally advanced the time of the shooting. The communist North blames the South and refuses to let South Korean officials conduct an on-scene investigation.
Meanwhile, the funeral of the victim, 53-year-old housewife Park Wang Ja, was held yesterday in Seoul. Her son, Mr Bang Jae Jeong, 23, wept during the Christian ceremony and kissed a photo of his mother.
Hyundai Asan said it has reached agreement on compensation for the family but gave no details.
An eight-strong South Korean government investigation team, including forensic experts, held its first meeting on Monday. It will interview local witnesses to the tragedy while pressing for permission to visit Kumgang.
The North said the tourist, who was taking a dawn stroll on the beach near her hotel, had gone "beyond the clearly marked boundary fence" and intruded deep into a military area.
It said she fled when challenged and did not stop even when a soldier discharged warning shots, forcing him to open fire. The woman was hit twice and died at the scene.
However, local media have noted that several people who inadvertently trespassed in the zone in the past were merely warned. -- AFP
