N.Korea to Liquidate S.Korean Assets

North Korea on Thursday lambasted South Korea's decision to pursue its own sanctions against the North and vowed to liquidate South Korean assets in the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mt. Kumgang.

"From this moment, we declare all the inter-Korean agreements on economic cooperation and exchange null and void," the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said in a statement.

North Korea also said its troops are waiting for the final order to attack and warned that the Park Geun-hye government is "within the range of a primary attack" and warned South Korea will "pay an expensive price."

South Korea has an estimated W1.17 trillion worth of assets in the Kaesong Industrial Complex, which was shut down a month ago (US$1=W1,202). Companies that operated there believe the equipment, materials and finished products they left behind are worth W561.3 billion.

The government and public utility KEPCO invested some W363.6 billion in the industrial park to build roads, sewage systems, a power plant, a childcare facility, a fire station, a clinic and 303 buses for North Korean workers.

At the scenic Mt. Kumgang resort, which was closed in 2008, there are some W419.8 billion worth of South Korean assets. Another W84 billion worth is scattered across other parts of North Korea.

A government official here said, "North Korea's announcement means it will liquidate the assets as it sees fit, and we'll have to wait and see if the North will try and sell them abroad."

The Unification Ministry in a statement the same day warned North Korea against liquidating the assets.

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