N. Korea says to expel S. Koreans deemed 'unnecessary'

SEOUL, Aug. 3 Kyodo - North Korea announced Sunday that it will expel all ''unnecessary'' South Korean personnel working at its Mt. Geumgang resort area, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

The announcement was made in a statement by an unnamed spokesman for a unit of the North Korean army stationed in the area, where a South Korean tourist was shot dead last month, according to the KCNA report.

In the statement, the spokesman said, ''We will expel all the persons of the south side staying in the Mt. Geumgang tourist area we deem unnecessary,'' according to the KCNA report.

''We will more strictly limit and control the passage of the persons and vehicles of the south side through the Military Demarcation Line to enter the area of Mt. Geumgang,'' the spokesman was quoted as saying.

''We will take strong military counter-actions against even the slightest hostile actions in the tourist resort in the area of Mt. Geumgang and the area under the military control from now on,'' he added.

The statement said the measures were taken in response to the administration of South Korean President Lee Myung Bak ''persisting in its reckless anti-DPRK confrontational racket after unilaterally suspending the tour of Mt. Geumgang under the pretext of the recent case.'' DPRK is the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

About 830 workers are stationed at the scenic resort, 263 of whom are South Koreans, according to Hyundai Asan, the South Korean company that operates the resort, the South's Yonhap News Agency said in a report.

The company said it has yet to be notified of any decision by the North, according to Yonhap.

Convening a high-level emergency meeting, the South Korean Unification Ministry said it plans to announce its response to the statement later in the day, according to Yonhap.

The tourist, a South Korean housewife, was gunned down at a beach at the resort on July 11 after she strayed into a military area during an early morning stroll.

The killing prompted Seoul to suspend tours to the mountain, which was opened to South Korean tourists 10 years ago as part of inter-Korean reconciliation efforts.