Posted on 04/02/2013 7:11:33 PM PDT by Squidpup
North Korea on Wednesday delayed the entry of South Koreans to a joint industrial complex in a rare move amid high tensions on the Korean peninsula, the South's Unification Ministry said.
"North Korea has not yet given us the daily permission for the entry of 484 South Koreans into Kaesong today," a South Korean Unification Ministry spokeswoman told AFP.
The border crossing usually takes place at 8:30 am (2330 GMT), but there has been no word from the North's officials for almost an hour, she said.
The delay sparked fears the North could carry out its threatened shutdown of the Seoul-invested industrial estate, which has continued to run during previous crises on the peninsula.
Border crossings for Kaesong, which lies 10 kilometres (six miles) inside North Korea, have been functioning normally despite soaring tensions in recent weeks between the North and the South.
The operating stability of the complex is seen as a bellwether of inter-Korean relations, and its closure would mark a clear escalation of tensions beyond all the military rhetoric.
Reuters
7:51 p.m. CDT, April 2, 2013
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has delayed the daily opening of its Kaesong industrial zone with South Korea in a move that could represent a sharp escalation of tensions between the two countries and potentially trap hundreds of South Koreans in the North.
The daily entry clearance, agreed by telephone, to the joint complex had been delayed for over an hour early on Wednesday. The North had previously threatened to close the complex as part of a standoff with Washington and Seoul.
“We are waiting for access from the North Korean authorities,” a Unification Ministry official said. The ministry said 861 South Korean workers are in the industrial complex while 179 workers await entry.
The complex is a rare lucrative source of income for the impoverished North since it was established as a form of joint-Korean cooperation in the early 2000s.
The latest move comes after North Korea said on Tuesday it would revive a mothballed nuclear reactor able to produce bomb-grade plutonium in a standoff that has seen Washington shift military resources into South Korea.
Pyongyang has been ramping up its threats since it was hit by international sanctions following its third nuclear test earlier this year.
(Reporting by Christine Kim and Ju-min Park; Editing by David Chance and Dean Yates)
Copyright © 2013, Reuters
Kidnapping for ransom.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/03/us-korea-north-complex-idUSBRE93200F20130403
(Reuters) - North Korea stepped up pressure on Seoul by delaying access to a joint industrial park in a move that could trap hundreds of South Korean workers on the northern side of the world’s most militarized border.
It was not immediately clear if the move was aimed at closing the Kaesong Industrial zone, which generates $2 billion a year in trade for the impoverished North and $80 million in cash wages that go straight to its government. North Korean delays to accessing the zone are very rare.
The delay came after Pyongyang said it would restart a nuclear reactor that it uses to produce plutonium for its nuclear weapons program and as Washington deployed military resources in South Korea amid growing tensions with the North.
As of 0054 GMT, 861 South Korean workers were in the zone that is home to 123 South Korean firms just inside North Korea. They employ more than 50,000 North Koreans to make low grade household goods.
The complex was established as a form of joint-Korean cooperation in the early 2000s.
“We are waiting for access from the North Korean authorities,” a Unification Ministry official said. The ministry said 179 workers were also awaiting entry at the border.
...
This is only happening because of the Sequester. Obama warned us.
Raise taxes fast before we see Nukes landing in the US!
DrJenGunter: RT @W7VOA: To clarify, #DPRK banning ENTRY into Kaesong Industrial Zone bt allow S. Koreans inside to return South. That’s happening right now.
Tuesday, April 02, 2013 10:13:25 PM
Sounds like a job for Hans Blix...
North Korea keeps poking the western tiger in the butt. If we were living in the days of Reagan or Bush the 2nd this would not be happening. However, Kim Jong-un knows that the western tiger (Obama) has no teeth.
demanrisu: RT @W7VOA: #ROK says it has been notified by #DPRK that entry of S. Koreans into Kaesong Industrial zone now suspended.
That industrial park is the ONLY profitable enterprise in NK.
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!
You cage a rabid animal he will strike back. Just like Japan when we cut off their oil supplies.
Their intention won’t be to land nukes on US soil.
Now that they have achieved orbital capabilities, they will orbit one or two nukes of enhanced EMP design about 300 miles above the earth, and then detonate them as they pass over the continental US.
If they do one to cover the east coast and eastern US, and likewise for the western half of the country, we are back to the 1800’s for far too long.
No electricity. Welcome to camping out and raising your own food for the rest of your life.
It is estimated 200,000,000 will perish the first year after an EMP attack such as this.
N Korea now has the basic capability to wage such a hugely asymmetric war, and the fact that we could retaliate with our overseas forces means nothing when you are dealing with a nation led by whackos.
It is the international version of the recent shooter incidents who committed suicide as soon as confronted. They go in knowing they are not going to survive. The law doesn’t matter, nor does their survival.
One or two nukes hitting a city in the US? Obviously we can and will survive as a nation.
One or two overhead in space? Lights out.
A grim prognosis indeed.
The Japanese Empire had already struck by that point.
Ping me when they get that to work and stop one circuit from working. Meanwhile he is looking up for drones in the air watching him.
NeighborhoodFP: RT @Jefferson252: Bill Gertz: Nodong missiles, launchers seen in satellite imagery #DPRK http://t.co/qh3tfqQi3K
Tuesday, April 02, 2013 9:49:49 PM
What does it matter to the North? The are determine to go to war so it will be cut off anyway. Baby face is about to get spanked.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaesong_Industrial_Region
excerpt
In 2012 wages were estimated at about $160 per month, about one-fifth of the South Korean minimum wage, and about a quarter of typical Chinese wages.
The firms are taking advantage of cheap labor available in the North to compete with China to create low-end goods such as shoes, clothes, and watches.
It started with the scrap metal and then oil embargo. Japan was starving for oil so they attacked.
If they shoot off one of those missiles in any direction (not that they can control them) I have a hard time seeing this situation settling down.
This is the worst that I’ve seen in along time, and I started paying attention in 1965.
It only takes two hot heads for trouble to start.
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