Hong said suspending operations was “to stop funds for the Kaesong Industrial Complex from being used for North Korea’s development of missile and nuclear weapons programmes”.
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In order to restart operations this time, the South has demanded that North Korea first “dispel the worldwide community’s concerns about its nuclear and missile developments, and provide a favorable atmosphere for our firms to normally operate factories”.
South Korean companies in Kaesong survived during past periods of tensions that led to the suspension of other inter-Korean projects.
Japan eased some sanctions on North Korea in July 2014 in return for Pyongyang reopening its probe into the fate of Japanese citizens abducted decades ago by North Korean agents to help train spies, although little progress has been seen since.
The park, which started producing goods in 2004, has provided 616 billion won ($560 million) of cash to impoverished North Korea, Hong said. Cheong Seong-Chang, of South Korea’s Sejong Institute think-tank, said the North could simply divert workers to China and the financial damage it would suffer may be less than the South expected.
There was no immediate reaction to the move from North Korea.
According to multiple experts, North Korea has at least a dozen and perhaps as many as 100 nuclear weapons, though at present it lacks sophisticated delivery mechanisms. “We assess that North Korea has followed through on its announcement by expanding its Yongbyon enrichment facility and restarting the plutonium production reactor”, Clapper said in prepared testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
However, South Korea, other neighbours and Washington denounced the launch as a missile test.
The claims are backed by Ri’s recent disappearance – he was nowhere to be seen during Pyongyang’s celebrations of Sunday’s long-range rocket launch in the North.
The U.S. Strategic Command said it had detected a missile entering space, and South Korea’s military said the rocket had put an object into orbit.
North Korea’s launch of a long-range rocket has drawn sharp condemnations and threats of new sanctions.
The United Nations Security Council is now discussing tougher sanctions against the North to punish it for violating prior demands to halt its nuclear and missile programs.
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Kim Jong-un’s military chief has been executed on charges of corruption, it was reported today.
