South Korea will pull out all remaining workers from a jointly run industrial zone in North Korea, it said yesterday, after Pyongyang rejected a call for formal talks to end a standoff that led to operations being suspended.
The decision to remove about 170 people from the Kaesong factory park located just north of the armed border, deepens the conflict between the two Koreas and puts at risk their last remaining channel of exchange that resulted from their breakthrough 2000 summit and a bid to improve ties.
North Korea, angry at UN sanctions and joint South Korean-US military drills, has threatened both countries with nuclear attack in recent weeks.
“Because our nationals remaining in the Kaesong industrial zone are experiencing greater difficulties due to the North’s unjust actions, the government has come to the unavoidable decision to bring back all remaining personnel in order to protect their safety,” South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae said.
The North withdrew its 53,000 workers from the complex this month amid spiralling tension between the two Koreas.
The North has prevented South Korean workers and supplies from getting into the zone since April 3.
North Korea rejected the proposal of talks, saying the South has acted in an “unpardonable” manner to jeopardize a “precious” legacy of the rivals’ bid to seek peace.
The North’s National Defense Commission, its supreme leadership body, repeated that what it saw as the reckless behavior of the South had thrown into question the safety of the zone’s operations.
The Kaesong project opened in 2004 as part of a so-called sunshine policy of engagement and optimism between the two Koreas, with 123 South Korean companies producing clothing, household goods and motorcycle helmets employing local workers.
The zone was a lucrative source of cash for the North, providing it with almost US$90 million a year. South Korean manufacturers have been paying about US$130 a month to North Korea for each of the workers they employ.
On Thursday, South Korea made the proposal for formal talks as the South Korean workers who remained at the zone were believed to be running out of food and other supplies. It had demanded an answer from the North by yesterday.
The number of South Koreans in the zone has dwindled from the 700 or so normally needed to keep the factories running to about 170, seen as the minimum number needed to safeguard assets at the 1 trillion won (US$894.73 million) park.
North Korea stepped up defiance of UN Security Council resolutions in December last year when it launched a rocket that it said had put a scientific satellite into orbit.
Critics said the launch was aimed at developing technology to deliver a nuclear warhead mounted on a long-range missile.
The North followed that in February with its third test of a nuclear weapon.
That brought new UN sanctions, which in turn led to a dramatic intensification of North Korea’s threats of nuclear strikes against South Korea and the US.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS