Posted on 04/03/2013 10:25:07 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
One day after North Korea suspended South Koreans' entry to the joint inter-Korean industrial park in the North's town of Kaesong, the communist country threatened to permanently shut down the economic cooperation project on Thursday, stating they have nothing to gain from the park.
"The reason why we did not shut down the Kaesong Industrial Park even during these war time conditions is because the livelihood of South Korean small- and medium-size firms depends on this and the closure of (the park) will lead to massive unemployment of South Koreans," the Internet-based television unit of Uriminzokkiri, the main propaganda Web site, said.
If the South Korean government continues to issue reckless remarks on the Kaesong zone, "the stern action to entirely shut down the Kaesong industrial park will be taken at any time," according to the TV unit.
The joint industrial park is now beneficial to only South Korean firms and the North gains no interest from it, the country said.
The threat came one day after the North put a ban on the entry of South Koreans workers and vehicles into the industrial zone in Kaesong, only allowing departures from the area.
More than 800 South Korean workers are currently staying in the park, with about 200 of them scheduled to head to the South on Thursday ahead of the weekend.
The latest threat came after a series of bellicose rhetoric from the North, including threats to launch nuclear attacks on the U.S. and the South amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The South Korean government has called for normalization of the Kaesong park, the only remaining symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.
The industrial park is deemed one of the major sources of foreign currency income for the cash-strapped country.
South Korean firms operating in the park raised concerns that a prolonged suspension may drain their own food and material reserves, but the Seoul government remains reluctant to negotiate with the North about food supply to the zone.
Ping
Why did the SOUKs ever agree to become entwined financially with the NORKs?
begs a bigger question - why do they have a joint factory with the people that says they are still at war with them? skorea gains nothing having this.
Sure they do. Cheap NK hookers, young boys and Drugs. Same reason our elite build plants in china and mexico.
Because it’s all a SHAM. Noise and Distraction by China.
It looks like widdle kimmy want his peeps to start eating rocks again.
does anyone realize that Kaesong, which is in NK, has “free trade” or MFN or whatever status with the US?
Whatever dude.
North Korea just threatened to nuke the United States again.
Well, they are not going to be able to afford running it without the South Koreans, which they just booted. Plus, their market has just vanished. So, it only makes sense that it will be shut down. No money, no customers = no business.
Our joint exercise Foal Eagle ends about 30 April, so look for more and more extreme antics by NK until then.
No ammunition has been released to NK ground units.
Somethings cooking on the China-NK border, a Chinese fighter penetrated NK airspace and overflew most of the border on 21 March. However, most of the Chinese ground units that moved to the border, have pulled back to their garrisons.
China delivered no crude to NK in February or March, for the first time in 39 months, looks like a pressure play.
If NK starts up their mothballed reactors, it would take many years to produce weapons plutonium, no threat there. NK only has enough plutonium for about 6 weapons and their blast yields todate have been very weak.
One thing of note, all the NK war posturing to date has been made by civil, government officials, not the NK military officials.
When NK has done that in the past, it has allowed NK deniability and an easy way to walk backwards as they can claim that the government was just preparing the people for martial law.
LOL! Back off, or the slope gets it.
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