S. Korean woman missing in Yemen confirmed killed

(ATTN: UPDATES lead paras, throughout with details)
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government expressed "anger and
shock" Tuesday over the slaying of a South Korean woman apparently kidnapped by
insurgents in Yemen, with the fate of six other foreigners still unconfirmed.

Eom Young-sun, 34, had been missing since Friday, when she went on a picnic in a
northern Yemeni province, Sada, with eight other foreigners from Germany and
Britain including two children. The Yemeni authorities said they were presumed to
have been abducted by local rebels or terrorists, possibly al-Qaida. Eom had been
tutoring the children of South Korean members of the World Wide Services, an
international medical assistance organization.
"The bodies of three women were found on Monday, according to the Yemeni
government. And one of them has been confirmed to be that of Eom," a foreign
ministry official told reporters in a background briefing on condition of
anonymity. "The fate of six others missing including two children has yet to be
confirmed."
The official withheld the nationality of the other two women found dead.
It took time to identify the victims as their bodies were severely damaged, he
said, adding Eom's body, now in a Sada hospital, will be transferred soon to the
Yemeni capital Sanna by a military plane to be brought to South Korea.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the killings, but local rebels or
terrorists are believed to be behind it, the official said.
South Korea's foreign ministry strongly denounced the killings.
"The government cannot contain its anger and shock" over the confirmation that
our national has been killed, it said in a statement. "South Korea will cooperate
closely with Yemen, Germany, and Britain to find out details of this case."
The government has a firm position that terrorist acts against innocent
foreigners are an inhumane crime and that it will actively join international
efforts to root out terrorism, the ministry said.
Terrorist attacks against locals and foreigners have been increasing in Yemen,
one of the most underdeveloped Arab nations.
In March, four South Korean tourists were killed and three others wounded in
Yemen from a terrorist bomb attack in the historic city of Shibam, some 90
kilometers east of Sanna. There was another bomb attack against South Korean
government officials visiting there to handle the case, but no one was hurt.
The Yemeni government said the two terrorist attacks, presumably by al-Qaida,
targeted unspecified foreigners.
Seoul issued a non-binding travel warning on Yemen shortly after the attack.
About 170 South Koreans reside in Yemen. The ministry advised them to return to
South Korea.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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