[UPDATES] North Korea seals off Kaesong complex

By Park Sae-jin Posted : February 11, 2016, 18:13 Updated : February 11, 2016, 19:16

[Aju News DB]


North Korea sealed off an inter-Korean joint industrial zone Thursday, condemning South Korea's decision to shut it down as a "dangerous" provocation which is tantamount to the declaration of a war.

The North said all assets including equipment, factory facilities and products in the Kaesong industrial complex would be frozen, ordering South Korean personnel to leave by the close of business on Thursday at 5:00 pm (0800 GMT).

The order was announced by the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, a state body in charge of cross-border affairs, a day after South Korea suspended operations at Kaesong.

"It's the dangerous declaration of a war, driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to an extreme confrontation and the brink of a war," the committee said.

From now on, the zone will be turned into a military area, the committee said, adding a border corridor for the passage of personnel and vehicles to Kaesong would be closed, with military hotlines for cross-border communications cut off.

"Those expelled will not be allowed to bring out anything but personal belongings," the committee said in a statement published by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency.

The suspension of operations at Kaesong, a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation and reconciliation, comes as cross-border tension runs high over North Korea's recent long-range rocket launch which followed its nuclear test on January 6.

South Korea shut it down to cut off North Korea's remaining source of hard currency, accusing the nuclear-armed country of stepping up nuclear and missile programs despite repeated warnings from the international community.

The inter-Korean industrial estate, which lies just 10 kilometers (six miles) over the border in the North, hosts about 120 South Korean firms employing some 53,000 North Korean workers.

Kaesong is a key earner for the cash-strapped North. The hard currency wages are kept by the state, which passes on a fraction -- in local currency -- to the workers.

Kaesong opened in 2004 and has generally managed to ride out repeated inter-Korea crises, even when every other avenue of cooperation was closed off.

The glaring exception came in 2013, when Pyongyang effectively shut down the zone for five months by withdrawing its workers.

 아주경제 임장원 기자 = cwlim34@ajunews.com
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