North Korea: We no longer guarantee tourists' safety

JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images

Although relations have warmed somewhat between the two Koreas in recent years, that trend appears to be retreating -- rapidly.

Last month, a North Korean soldier shot an unarmed South Korean tourist while she was visiting Mt. Kumgang, a tourist area in the North operated by a South Korean company (shown at right). In response, South Korea suspended future tours to Mt. Kumgang and ordered all South Korean residents to leave the resort.

Now, the North Koreans have returned the favor, changing the wording on their official invitation to South Korean tourists. Chosun Ilbo's editorial board has more:

The words 'We invite' and 'guarantee the safety' of the visitor has been changed to 'agree' (to the visit) and 'offer accommodation.'... Without a formal safety guarantee, whether it is for Mt. Kumgang or Pyongyang, it has become dangerous for South Koreans to set foot on North Korean soil simply hoping that nothing will go wrong."

I guess it is now, if not impossible to travel to Mt. Kumgang, at least highly inadvisable.