The presidential office says tours to North Korea’s Mount Geumgang resort will be suspended until the truth behind the death of a South Korean tourist there is brought to light. A female South Korean tourist was killed by a North Korean soldier at the resort early Friday.

Presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said that the North should expect a harsh response from the South's government regarding the incident, which he described as “a grave matter.”

He defended President Lee Myung-bak for proposing inter-Korean dialogue in a speech before the National Assembly on Friday afternoon despite his advance knowledge of the incident.
According to the spokesman, the president concluded that he didn’t have to change the principle that inter-Korean dialogue is necessary.

The spokesman denied some media reports that the president had ignored his aides’ advice not to make the proposal in the speech. He said there was consensus among a majority of presidential aides that keeping the proposal would be better, since it suggested the direction of government policies toward the North.