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Pyongyang expels S Korean officials amid nuclear spat

North Korea expelled early yesterday most South Korean officials from a joint industrial estate just north of the border in its first response to Seoul's new tougher line with its communist neighbor.

The expulsions were in protest at comments by a South Korean minister linking expansion of the Kaesong estate to the North's denuclearization, a spokesman for Seoul's unification ministry said.

He said that Seoul withdrew 11 of its 13 officials residing at a joint office in the complex at 12:55am yesterday after the North demanded that all the officials leave. Only two South Korean officials in charge of maintenance remained.

"The government expresses deep regret over the action and makes it clear that all the responsibility rests with North Korean authorities," said Kim Ho-nyoun, spokesman for the ministry that handles relations with the North.

It was the first time the North has expelled South Koreans since the Seoul-funded Kaesong complex was set up in 2005, following a landmark 2000 summit between the two historic enemies.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called an emergency meeting of security-related officials early yesterday following the expulsions, Yonhap news agency said.

Kaesong is the most important joint project and most visible symbol of reconciliation between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war. Almost 24,000 North Korean workers earning about US$70 a month produce light industrial goods for 69 South Korean firms.

The spokesman said the expulsions may spark anxiety among potential investors in the complex, which was said to be operating normally yesterday.

Managers of the estate said South Korean factory bosses were not being hindered from traveling to the estate.

South Korean Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong said last week that Kaesong would not be expanded unless progress was made in scrapping the North's nuclear program.
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