DPRK to expel ROK citizens from resort

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said yesterday that it would expel citizens from the Republic of Korea (ROK) from a mountain resort that symbolized reconciliation efforts on the divided peninsula, amid rising tension over the shooting death of a ROK tourist.

The DPRK military unit at its Diamond Mountain resort said in a statement that today it will begin ejecting from the resort ROK personnel deemed "unnecessary" because the ROK "is pushing the North-South relations to a graver stage."

The DPRK says an army guard fatally shot a 53-year-old ROK housewife at the resort last month because she entered a restricted military area and ignored a warning to stop.