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S. Korea denounces DPRK's freezing of assets at joint factory park

Source: Xinhua | February 12, 2016, Friday | Online Edition

SOUTH Korea's official in charge of inter-Korean affairs on Friday denounced the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for its freezing of South Korean assets at a jointly-run factory park that was shut down by the DPRK.

Unification Minister Hong Yong-Pyo told a press conference that Seoul sternly warns Pyongyang against any acts to damage South Korea's precious assets at the Kaesong Industrial Zone.

His comments came after Pyongyang's decision to shut down the inter-Korean industrial zone on Thursday, while deporting all of South Koreans there.

The deported South Koreans were only allowed to bring back personal belongings, with all of finished products, materials and equipment set to be managed by a DPRK committee due to Pyongyang's decision to freeze the South Korean assets.

After all of 280 South Koreans returned to the south from Kaesong on Thursday night, Seoul cut off power and water supplies to the factory park, ending the last remaining inter-Korean cooperative project, according to Seoul's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Pyongyang's shutdown followed Seoul's announcement on Wednesday to halt operations of factories in Kaesong, where 124 South Korean companies had employed some 54,000 DPRK workers.

Having put the factory park under military control, the DPRK withdrew all of its workers from there. Pyongyang closed an inter-Korean highway linking to Kaesong from South Korea, while cutting off two major communication hotlines between the two Koreas.

Hong expressed deep regrets over DPRK actions, saying that the North should be held responsible for whatever happens going forward.

Calling the DPRK's recent rocket launch and nuclear test as provocations, Hong said it was hard to anticipate any positive change from the DPRK by responding to its moves like in the past.

The minister said Seoul's decision to suspend the Kaesong park operations was an inevitable choice for peace and future on the Korean Peninsula, vowing to make all-out efforts to provide swift and sufficient assistance to South Korean companies having operated factories in the DPRK border town.

Pyongyang launched a satellite-carrying rocket, which Seoul sees as a cover for a long-range ballistic missile, on Sunday after conducting its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6.

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