N Korea says it will shut border with south
North Korea said yesterday it would close its border with South Korea from next month in protest at what it called Seoul's confrontational stance, a move that could cripple a joint industrial estate.
The communist state announced that a measure "to strictly restrict and cut off all the overland passages" would take effect from December 1, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
A total closure of the heavily fortified border would effectively shut down the Seoul-funded Kaesong industrial complex built just north of the frontier as a symbol of reconciliation.
It would also halt a popular tourist trip to Kaesong city.
South Korea's unification ministry expressed regret and urged the North to restart stalled dialogue. Spokesman Kim Ho-Nyoun said he did not believe the North intended a complete closure.
Wednesday's announcement follows months of icy relations, including threats by the North to expel South Koreans from Kaesong in protest at the spreading of cross-border propaganda leaflets by Seoul activists.
Cross-border relations soured after conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak took office in February. He promised to take a firmer line with the North after a decade-long "sunshine" engagement policy.
Lee said he would review summit agreements between the North and his liberal predecessors, which envisage projects costing tens of billions of dollars.
The North is also angry with South Korean activists who launch balloons carrying hundreds of thousands of leaflets across the border.
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