A spokesman for the "Ministry of Unification" on Nov. 19 talked about "guarantee of personal safety of tourists", saying that he "hoped for the north's sincere measures".

On Nov. 26, the spokesman again talked nonsense that the guarantee of the personal safety of south Korean tourists at the highest level was not included in the "agreement between authorities".

This is sheer sophism aimed to cover up its criminal act of having scotched the tour of Mt. Kumgang, symbol of the north-south reconciliation and cooperation.

The Lee group is the chief culprit which suspended the tour that had been favorably under way for nearly a decade amid the expectation and concern of the public at home and abroad.

Soon after coming to power, the Lee group together with the "Saenuri Party" ragtag desperately stood against the tour, talking about "financial resources".

With the tourist incident in July 2008, the group unilaterally suspended the tour.

As far as the responsibility for the tourist incident is concerned, it was caused by the tourist's carelessness, and the responsibility rests with the south Korean authorities who took loose control of the tourists.

However, the group of traitors continued to raise the issue of "personal safety". This is aimed to evade the responsibility for the suspension and quench the increasing demand of south Koreans for the resumption of the tour.

Explicitly speaking, there is no such issue as the "safety of tourists" in the DPRK as touted by the south Korean puppet forces.

The auxiliary agreement on tour of Mt. Kumgang which was concluded between the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and the Hyundai Group in October 1998 and the agreement on entrance and exit out of Kaesong Industrial Zone and tourist zone of Mt. Kumgang that was adopted at the 13th north-south ministerial talks in February 2004 specified all articles regarding the guarantee of the safety of the south side's personnel and the provision of convenience for their entrance and exit.

In May 2000, the DPRK side showed special sincerity of issuing a memorandum on the guarantee of safety of the south Korean tourists and handed it over to the south side.

During Pyongyang visit by the chairwoman of the Hyundai Group in August 2009, the DPRK side gave assurances at the highest level as for the issue of safety of the south Korean tourists and officially made public it through the joint press release between the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and the Hyundai Group.

The DPRK repeatedly proposed talks for the resumption of the tour by sending notices to the south side on several times.

But the south Korean authorities keen on escalating confrontation with fellow countrymen, only kept raising "three conditions" and evaded the resumption of the tour. Finally they stooped to such an arrogant act of disrupting the negotiations.

All facts prove that the scotched tour and failed resumption are attributable to the puppet conservative regime's vicious hostile policy toward the DPRK, not to the issue of "personal safety".

The south Korean authorities' denial of the resumption of tour is precisely that of the north-south ties, north-south joint declarations and reconciliation, unity and reunification.

The south Koreans and all other Koreans crave the earlier resumption of the tour of Mt. Kumgang.

The Lee group and the "Saenuri Party" can never stem the desire and demand of the south Koreans to reopen the tour of Mt. Kumgang.