North Korea says bold action by US could open path to treaty

About 50,000 North Koreans are working at factories run by about 120 South Korean companies in the Kaesong industrial zone.

The Ministry of Unification, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said Wednesday that the North had verbally notified the South Korean government about its decision to ban the two nationals from crossing the border, citing disgruntlement with the South’s management committee for the venture park over the way it had addressed disagreements over operations at the complex.

The North, however, did not specify what it was upset about.

Park said Seoul hopes to swiftly launch discussions with the North on matters of mutual interest and on the future of the peninsula, as stipulated in the inter-Korean August 25 accord.

“North Korea has indicated its intent to discuss the issue orally last November, but there has been no request or notification from the North Korean side, thus there has been no discussion between the two sides”, Park said during a press briefing.

An official from South Korea’s Unification Ministry stated that it is unknown to them why the two officials were prevented from entering the complex where South Korean employees of the Kaesong Industrial Complex normally cross the border via commute to get to work.

“We complained that the entry ban…is unacceptable and was made unilaterally in a clear violation of jointly-set rules on the Kaesong complex”, said the official. He was recently involved in negotiations over land use fees and his role in the talks has fueled speculation that Pyongyang is seeking to gain the upper hand.

The details, Carter said, are to ensure that the capabilities on the South Korean side are advanced enough that a transfer would be undetectable, and may have “a strengthening effect”.

While private publishers have been accused by conservatives of being left leaning and even pro-North Korea, liberal politicians and many academics have raised concerns about the government distorting history in the other direction. It took five months for the joint complex to reopen. The ruling Workers Party, the armed forces and ordinary citizens tried to attract foreign investment by setting up businesses, but they were called “factories” or “operations” in order to toe the socialist line.

North Korea, for its part, maintains that it must have a deterrent to counter the threat of a USA attack – nuclear or otherwise.