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Koreas
Pyongyang to close border with South
Article published on the 2008-11-12 Latest update 2008-11-13 11:03 TU
The demilitarised zone between the two Koreas at Goseong
(Photo: Reuters)
North Korea said Wednesday it plans to close its border with South Korea starting next month in reaction to what it calls the South’s confrontational stance. The move would effectively shut down the Kaesong industrial complex built just north of the heavily fortified border in 2004 as a symbol of reconciliation between the two countries.
North Korea announced it would “strictly restrict and cut off all the overland passages” as of 1 December, reported the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the North Korean government news agency.
The agency reported that decision was made because Seoul failed to honour agreements reached by the two sides at summits in 2000 and 2007.
Cross-border relations have been tense since South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak took office in February, promising to take a harder approach with the North. He said he would review summit agreements that had proposed tens of billions of dollars of projects between the two countries.
North Korea is also angry at South Korean activists who send leaflets across the border by balloons, criticising North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-Il, and repeating suggestions that he is ill.
The North had threatened to expel South Koreans from Kaesong because they were spreading the propaganda leaflets.
The KCNA reported that border restrictions were the "first step" in the North’s response and that Seoul was making confrontational moves that were “going beyond the danger level”, reported KCNA.
"The South Korean puppet authorities should never forget that the present inter-Korean relations are at the crucial crossroads of existence and total severance,” added the agency.
Closing the border would not only shut down the industrial complex, but would also stop a popular day tour to Kaesong city.
The South Korean unification ministry expressed regret at the decision, but spokesperson Kim Ho-Nyoun said he did not believe the North would shut the border completely.
