Seoul to stop work at N. Korea industrial park

Earlier in the day, the South Korean government announced a complete shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North’s border city of the same name, the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation, in response to the North’s recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.

North Koreans gather at the Kim Il Sung Square to celebrate a satellite launch Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Seoul imposed partial restrictions on entry to the complex last month following the North’s shock nuclear test on January 6.

“The fact that this situation continues without any changes does not mean that the status quo [will be maintained] but rather means that North Korea’s nuclear capability becomes heightened, which could lead to an atrocious disaster”, Hong said.

The North Koreans “may detain one or two South Korean nationals and try to use them as a bargaining chip for future negotiations”, said Lee In-Bae, director of the Seoul-based Korea Peninsula Future Forum.

In order to restart operations this time, the South has demanded that North Korea first “dispel the global community’s concerns about its nuclear and missile developments, and provide a favorable atmosphere for our firms to normally operate factories”.

On Sunday, the North launched a rocket carrying the Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite, which was viewed by many as a cover for testing its intercontinental ballistic missile technology.

In any event, North Korea must be made to suffer for its unsafe pursuit of weapons of mass destruction – and their delivery systems. The United States, backed by its Western allies, Japan and South Korea, want tough new sanctions that would impact North Korea’s ability to do business. He said, however, that Japan will keep a door open for dialogue to resolve the still-outstanding issue of Japanese citizens who were abducted by North Korea decades ago.

In light of this, the statement continued, “it is clear that the existing approach will not work in discomfiting North Korea’s nuclear and missile development plans”.

The special zone, located north of the border just six miles inside of North Korea, employs an estimated 55,000 North Koreans.

“The closure of the KIC will be damaging to the North Korean economy”, Jung Eun-lee at Kyungsang University told NK News.

South Korea says Kaesong will be shut down indefinitely.