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| China-Japan-Koreas | ||
| N.Korea Pulls Workers Out of Kaesong Complex | ||
| 2013-04-09 | ||
Pyongyang on Monday halted operations at the joint-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex by withdrawing all North Korean workers.
Some 54,000 North Korean laborers work for 123 South Korean firms in the industrial park. The complex now faces the first real danger of being shut down since it was launched based on an inter-Korean agreement in 2004. It kept operating even after the North sank the Navy corvette Cheonan in March and 2010 and shelled Yeonpyeong Island in November that year. "Despite our repeated warnings, the South Korean confrontationists keep hurling unbearable verbal abuse at us, insulting our dignity by talking about a 'cash cow,' and 'detention' and 'hostage taking' [of South Korean workers there], Kim complained. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin "revealed his true intentions of sending special U.S. forces into the Kaesong complex while talking about a possible rescue operation for hostages." The Unification Ministry said there is "no justification" for the move and added North Korea is solely responsible for any consequences. Some 475 South Korean staffers remain at the industrial park and all of them are safe, the government here said. An official said, "We're prepared for a contingency but have no plan right now to withdraw all staff from the industrial park."
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| Posted by:Steve White |