12:22 AM
S Korea cuts off power to industrial complex in North
South Korea has cut off power and water supplies to a bordering
industrial complex in North Korea, officials said, a day after the North
deported all South Korean workers there and ordered a military takeover of the complex that had been the last major symbol of cooperation between the rivals.
Seoul's move to shut down operations at the joint-run Kaesong complex
is the latest in an escalating standoff over North Korea's recent
rocket launch that the UN has condemned as a banned test of missile
technology.
Pyongyang says the decision to deport the 280 workers at Kaesong was a
response to Seoul's earlier decision to suspend operations as
punishment for the launch.
North Korea tested what it said was a hydrogen bomb on January 6 and
on Sunday launched a rocket, putting a satellite into orbit.
The North also said it was closing an inter-Korean highway linking to
Kaesong and shutting down two cross-border communication hotlines.
Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Seoul, said some analysts
have suggested it could be the lowest point of relations between the two
neighbouring countries in more than 20 years.
"South Koreans have confirmed the cutting of the military emergency
hotline. They also promised to cut off the civilian hotline that the two
countries communicate with," he said.
"The South Korean defence ministry says it is possible that North
Korea will turn it into a full-fledged military base and that is
something they are keeping an eye on."
"What we have is the North Koreans saying that it is a declaration of
war by South Korea, that they (Seoul) have cut off the last remaining
lifeline of North-South relations."
On Thursday night, the 280 South Korean workers who had been at the
park crossed the border into South Korea, several hours after a deadline
set by the North passed.
But they weren't allowed to bring back any finished products and
equipment from their factories because the North announced it would
freeze all South Korean assets there.
The current standoff flared after North Korea carried out a nuclear
test last month, followed by the long-range rocket launch on Sunday that
came after Seoul had warned of serious consequences.
Seoul said its decision on Kaesong was an effort to stop North Korea
from using hard currency earned from the park to pay for its nuclear and
missile programs.
The North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in
a statement later on Thursday that the South's shutdown of Kaesong was a
"dangerous declaration of war" and a "declaration of an end to the last
lifeline of the North-South relations".
North Korea has previously cut off cross-border communication
channels in times of tension with South Korea, but they were later
restored after animosities eased.
Combining South Korean initiative, capital and technology with the
North's cheap labour, the industrial park has been seen as a test case
for reunification between the Koreas. Last year, 124 South Korean
companies hired 54,000 North Korean workers to produce socks,
wristwatches and other goods worth about $500 million.
The UN Security Council on Sunday strongly condemned
North Korea's rocket launch and said it would speed up work on a
sanctions resolution "in response to these dangerous and serious
violations".
The statement was adopted by China, Pyongyang's ally, and the 14
other council members during an emergency meeting called after Pyongyang
said it had put a satellite into orbit with a rocket launch.
