SEOUL - Up to 1,000 South Korean tourists were detained briefly in North Korea on Sunday after a lawmaker amongst them offered snacks and ice cream to a soldier, a report said.| What I want to know: how did the soldier respond? And his pals? |
The tourists were detained for some 40 minutes after the contact between a North Korean military guard and Cha Myung-jin, a lawmaker of South KoreaÂ’s opposition Grand National Party, the report said. The South Koreans were later released and deported home, reportedly after the South Korean side apologized and promised such unauthorized interaction would not happen again.
Amid easing tensions between the two Koreas, more than a million tourists have visited the rugged terrain just a few miles (kilometres) north of the border with South Korea since tours began in November 1998. Visitors to Mount Kumgang enjoy circuses, listen to old Korean ballads, and soak their limbs in natural hot springs, but they are prohibited from stepping outside the zone to talk with North Korean people.