SEOUL, South Korea — A North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist today at a mountain resort in the communist North, prompting the South to suspend the high-profile tour program just as South Korean's new president sought to rekindle strained ties between the divided countries.

The news of the unprecedented shooting of a 53-year-old woman at Diamond Mountain resort emerged just hours after new President Lee Myung-bak delivered a nationwide address calling for restored contacts between the two Koreas, which have been on hold since he took office in February.

Kim said South Korea would suspend future Diamond Mountain tours until it completes an investigation. The other some 1,200 tourists already at the resort are to complete their tours as scheduled by as late as Sunday, said Hyundai Asan, the South Korean company that operates the resort.

TOKYO — Apple's new iPhone went on sale today to eager buyers who had waited in lines around a city block and happily counted down the final 30 seconds before launch.The celebration at Japanese carrier Softbank's store in Tokyo had swirls of smoke and a digital clock ticking away over the entrance, part of a rollout in 22 nations, including Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.In the United States, where the gadgets debuted last year, iPhones were becoming available at 8 a.m. in each time zone, giving Apple aficionados time before the weekend to see just how the company upgraded the second version of the device with faster Internet navigation and dozens of new software programs.By this morning, the line at the Softbank store had grown to more than 1,000 people. Softbank quickly said it had sold out, though exactly how many iPhones were available in Tokyo is unclear, fueling the fervor about the gadget.The 8-gigabyte model costs $215 in Japan, while the 16-gigabyte version is $320. Those are similar to the U.S. prices of $199 and $299.

SYDNEY, Australia — Thousands of pilgrims converged on Sydney as it braced today for the weekend arrival of the pope and the start of World Youth Day, the biggest event held in Australia since the 2000 Olympics.After five years of planning, the massive Roman Catholic festival finally will kick off Tuesday and run through July 20, attracting more than 200,000 pilgrims to Sydney.Nuns decked out in habits and brightly-colored World Youth Day backpacks strolled through the city, as event organizers worked frantically to keep up with the ever-expanding flocks of faithful and Sydney residents steeled themselves for traffic nightmares.Pope Benedict XVI will arrive Sunday and rest for a few days before leading a series of prayer gatherings and meetings on Thursday. He will then take a boat trip on Sydney Harbor, followed by a welcome ceremony and papal motorcade through downtown.