N. Korea blames S. Korea for tourist shooting

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea has blamed South Korea for the shooting death of a tourist near a mountain resort in the communist nation, according to reports.

A statement from the North's tourism bureau Saturday expressed regret for the death of the 53-year-old South Korean woman. But it said responsibility for the incident "entirely rests with the south side" and said Seoul should apologize, The Associated Press reported.

North Korea also said it would not accept a request that South Korean officials visit the resort for an investigation.

The tourist, Park Wang-ja, was killed before dawn Friday after she entered a fenced-off restricted area along a beach near the resort. North Korea told the South Korean tour organizer that a soldier opened fire because Park ignored a warning to halt and instead ran away. Watch a report on the shooting »

Kim Ho-nyun, a South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman, earlier said that it "deeply regrets that such an incident has happened." Kim said.

The body was taken to a hospital in the South. The tours to the North have been suspended for the time being.

The resort is part of a tightly controlled and well-marked area along the east coast of the Korean peninsula and one of only two areas South Korean tourists are allowed to travel to in the North.

The incident occurred on the day South Korean President Lee Myung-bak proposed reopening stalled reconciliation talks with North Korea.

CNN's Sohn Jie-ae and Christine Kim contributed to this report.

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