By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Seoul is still uncertain as to whether the shooting of a South Korean tourist at a North Korean resort was intentional or not, according to a fact-finding team, Friday.
Hwang Boo-gi, who leads the eight-member group, told reporters investigations conducted so far found that the victim was shot dead before 5:16 a.m. on July 11, 200 meters away from a military fence.
``Of photos we have collected, one taken at 5:16 a.m. shows Park Wang-ja already down. So, we concluded that she was killed before that time,'' he said.
The photo contains two people thought to be North Korean soldiers standing next to her body but low definition makes it hard to identify whether they are soldiers or not, he said.
The reclusive state said a soldier opened-fire between 4:50 a.m. and 5 a.m.
The group also said the tourist was 200 meters from the fence which divides the Mount Geumgang resort and the restricted military zone ― 100 meters closer to the boundary line than the North Korean account.
``From photos taken by Hyundai Asan (the South's operator of the joint tourism project) and other tourists, we surmised that she was killed 200 meters from the fence.
``This needs to be clarified through on the spot investigations,'' Hwang said.
However, he took a cautious stance when discussing the nature of the incident.
``It is not appropriate now to say if this was intentional or not, based on several speculations. I think we can reach a conclusion after on-site investigations are done,'' he said.
According to examination results of surveillance camera tapes, the victim was found to have left her hotel at 4:18 a.m.
Hwang said his team is still tracking her route from the hotel to the shooting site, which is considered key to solving the case, but it is hard to completely elucidate without on-site verification.
The South has urged the North to cooperate in a joint investigation on the scene of the shooting, but Pyongyang has refused to respond, shifting the blame onto Seoul.
Park, a 53-year-old housewife residing in Seoul, was shot and killed by a North Korean sentry after allegedly straying into a military zone during a predawn stroll.
The government has suspended the Mt. Geumgang tourism project since the incident took place.