South Korean vehicles returning home from
North Korea's Kaesong are escorted by a South Korean military vehicle
upon their arrival at the customs, immigration and quarantine office
near the border village of Panmunjom, April 9, 2013.
SEOUL — None of the 53,000 North
Koreans employed at the Kaesong factory complex, the only remaining North-South
joint venture, showed up for work Tuesday. This comes a day after a high-level
North Korean official announced the project was being suspended, blaming the
South for turning the complex into a "theater of confrontation."
Meanwhile, North Korea has urged foreigners to consider leaving the South in
case a war breaks out.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye used a Tuesday cabinet meeting to warn Pyongyang that "no country or company in the world" will invest in North Korea if it suspends operations at the Kaesong joint industrial zone.
The president says North Korea's decision is "very disappointing." She asked how long does her country have to face a vicious cycle of North Korea asking for compromise and support and then creating crises.
Park spoke as the 400 remaining South Korea factory managers still inside the Kaesong facility, just north of the border, were forced to suspend production because none of their North Korean employees reported for work.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye used a Tuesday cabinet meeting to warn Pyongyang that "no country or company in the world" will invest in North Korea if it suspends operations at the Kaesong joint industrial zone.
The president says North Korea's decision is "very disappointing." She asked how long does her country have to face a vicious cycle of North Korea asking for compromise and support and then creating crises.
Park spoke as the 400 remaining South Korea factory managers still inside the Kaesong facility, just north of the border, were forced to suspend production because none of their North Korean employees reported for work.
Financial impact
The head of the factory owners'
association, Han Jae-kwon, said if the situation continues the small and medium
enterprises will face bankruptcy.
Han said the group wants to send a delegation to North Korea to discuss the fate of the Kaesong complex. He also is calling on both Seoul and Pyongyang to hold talks to find a way to immediately normalize the facility's operations.
After a tour of the complex on Monday, the secretary of the central committee of North Korea's Workers' Party, Kim Yang Gon, announced Pyongyang will reevaluate whether the project, which began production in 2004, will continue. Kim says that will depend on Seoul's attitude in the next few days.
Han said the group wants to send a delegation to North Korea to discuss the fate of the Kaesong complex. He also is calling on both Seoul and Pyongyang to hold talks to find a way to immediately normalize the facility's operations.
After a tour of the complex on Monday, the secretary of the central committee of North Korea's Workers' Party, Kim Yang Gon, announced Pyongyang will reevaluate whether the project, which began production in 2004, will continue. Kim says that will depend on Seoul's attitude in the next few days.
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