Tension as North Korea expels South from industrial zone

A vehicle leaving the Kaesong joint industrial zone passes through a checkpoint near the demilitarised zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea on February 11, 2016. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Pyongyang said it was seizing the assets of all the 124 South Korean companies operating factories in Kaesong.

  • North’s aggressive measures marked a significant escalation of cross-border tensions that have been elevated since it carried out a nuclear test last month.

  • Seoul had announced on Wednesday it was closing down operations at Kaesong.

SEOUL, Thursday

North Korea on Thursday expelled all South Koreans from the jointly-run Kaesong industrial zone and placed it under military control, saying Seoul’s earlier decision to shutter the complex had amounted to a “declaration of war”.

Pyongyang said it was seizing the assets of all the 124 South Korean companies operating factories in Kaesong, which lies 10 kilometres across the border inside North Korea.

It also cut two key communication hotlines with Seoul, preventing any further official discussion of the situation at the complex.

All 280 South Koreans ordered to leave Kaesong finally crossed the border back into South Korea shortly before 10:00pm (1300 GMT), easing concerns for their safety amid speculation that some might be detained.

The North’s aggressive measures marked a significant escalation of cross-border tensions that have been elevated since North Korea carried out a nuclear test last month and a long-range rocket launch on Sunday.

Seoul had announced on Wednesday it was closing down operations at Kaesong, and the North said it would now experience the “disastrous and painful consequences” of that action.

By shutting Kaesong, the South had destroyed the “last lifeline” of North-South relations and made a “dangerous declaration of war,” the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) said in statement.

Relations between the two Koreas have always been volatile, but analysts said the current situation risked turning into a full-blown crisis.

“Now we can say that all strings between the Koreas have been cut and that there are no more buffers,” said Ko Yoo-Hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.

“An escalation of tensions is inevitable, and I see further trouble ahead with Kaesong and the issues of seized assets, especially if North Korea militarises the zone,” Ko said.