North Korea to cut hotlines with South

Feb 22, 2016, 00:33

In its statement, North Korea said it would expel South Korean managers at the industrial park within the hour, and would freeze South Korean assets at the facility, including supplies and products.

The North declared the industrial park, run by the rivals as a symbol of cooperation for more than a decade, a military control zone, the agency that handles its ties with Seoul said, according to the official KCNA news agency.

Even in the face of repeated provocations by North Korea, the Park administration was reluctant to halt work at Kaesong. This was aimed at putting pressure on Beijing, which has been reluctant to impose tough sanctions on North Korea.

The complex, situated in North Korea just a few kilometers north of the border, was opened in 2004 as part of reconciliation efforts between the two Koreas.

The move prompted an angry response Thursday from North Korea. Washington, among others, said it was a ballistic missile test, and like last month's nuclear test, a violation of United Nations resolutions.

It had splashed down in some 270 pieces after exploding during midair-detachment, according to the Defense Ministry, which said the North may have designed the automatic explosion in order to avoid the exposure of their rocket technology.

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A South Korean cargo truck heads to the North Korean city of Kaesong as South Korean Army soldiers stand guard at the customs, immigration and quarantine office near the border village of Panmunjom, in Paju, South Korea, Thur... South Korea said it would ban reporters from the border crossing on Friday.

"More steps are needed to convince the (North Korean) leadership that it is not going to be possible to have access to the worldwide economic system let alone economic or financial aid as long as North Korea continues to pursue nuclear and missile programs", Russel said.

The complex housed 124 South Korean companies which employed about 55,000 North Koreans.

Earlier in the day, the United States also signalled unilateral moves against North Korea, with the US Senate unanimously adopting a Bill expanding sanctions.

U.S. experts have estimated that North Korea may have about 10 bombs - but that could grow to between 20 and 100 by 2020.

At the same hearing, Sen. "Our government has been quite inflexible in dealing with North Korea", said Professor Moon.

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He said, meanwhile, that South Korea will continue strategic communication with China and Russian Federation. Following the nuclear test in January, South Korea stepped up propaganda broadcasts sent across the border through large loudspeakers. Both the test and the launch were carried out in defiance of global sanctions.

The unverified footage of the rocket launch appears very similar to the footage the regime released of a rocket launch in 2012.

Most South Korean businesses at Kaesong manufactured labor-intensive products such as clothing, electronic components and wristwatches.

Other charges Ri faced before his execution were abusing his power and forming a clique, the official said.

"It is in a stable orbit and the report stating that it is tumbling is not valid", Charles Vick, senior technical analyst with GlobalSecurity.org, told Reuters, referring to some USA media reports quoting unnamed US officials.

The technology involved in the launch was "dual-use" and could be used to launch a satellite or deliver a warhead.

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