By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

South and North Korea held working-level talks on the resumption of inter-Korean tour programs Monday, but failed to reach any agreement.

South Korea urged the North to accommodate three preconditions for restarting the tours, including guaranteeing the safety of South Korean tourists travelling there.

On the other hand, North Korea claimed that it had already met the requirements and therefore, the joint tour programs should be resumed as soon as possible.

Tours to Mt. Geumgang and Gaeseong, the capital of the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392), have been suspended since a South Korean tourist was fatally shot by a North Korean soldier near the Geumgang resort in July 2008.

``The meeting ended without specific agreements,'' the South's chief delegate Kim Nam-shik told reporters, after returning from the talks. ``We will set a date for the next meeting through further consultations.''

Seoul has asked Pyongyang to cooperate in investigating the shooting incident; take steps to prevent recurrence of similar incidents; and guarantee the safety of South Korean tourists.

The North Korean delegates proposed resuming tours to Gaeseong from March and to Mt. Geumgang from April, Kim said.

Pyongyang also proposed that the two Koreas meet again this Friday to continue discussions on the tour programs.

Park Wang-ja, a 53-year-old housewife, was fatally shot during her pre-dawn stroll near the North Korean resort.

Pyongyang claimed that she had trespassed into a military restricted zone and its soldier had to fire because she failed to heed warnings to halt.

It said that it had taken sufficient measures by allowing officials of Hyundai Asan, the operator of the tour programs, to visit the scene of the crime and recover her body.

It also claimed that no further promises to secure the safety of South Koreans were necessary as North Korean officials had already promised to prevent a similar incident from reoccurring and guaranteed the safety of tourists during a meeting with Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun last November.

The South dispatched 18 officials led by Kim, chief of the ministry's inter-Korean exchange and cooperation bureau, and 15 support personnel to the talks, while the North sent three delegates headed by Kang Yong-chol, a senior official from its Asia Pacific Peace Committee.

The resort in the scenic mountain area was opened to the public in 1998.

About 1.9 million people, mostly South Koreans, had visited the enclave before the tours were suspended, according to the ministry.

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr