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Senior North Korean military officers reportedly told South Korean companies in the joint Kaesong Industrial Complex to go home and take their factories with them. The North Korean delegation included Lt. Gen. Kim Yong-chol, head of the Policy Planning Office of the North Korean National Defense Commission, who inspected the facility last Thursday in what was widely seen as a shot before the prow ahead of a threat to cut all cross-border communication this week.
In a closed-door meeting between Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong and representatives of the firms in Seoul, one of the representatives said his staff told him that North Korean officers made the remarks when they spent 45 minutes at the factory last Thursday. He quoted the North Korean officers as claiming the land belongs to the military.
It was earlier reported that Kim asked the South Korean company managers how long it would take for the South Korean firms to pull out.
Prof. Nam Joo-hong of Gyonggi University said, ˇ°If the North Korean military is taking the lead in pressuring the South, we cannot rule out a partial closure of the Kaesong complex or deportation of South Korean staff, or that the North will take over management of the complex.ˇ±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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