South Korea to Withdraw Citizens From Joint Factory as North Rejects Talks
Source: Bloomberg
South Korea said it will withdraw all its citizens remaining in a jointly-run industrial park in North Korea after the totalitarian regime rejected a demand to discuss the shuttered complex.
President Park Geun Hye made the inevitable decision to pull the 175 South Koreans still at the Gaeseong industrial zone since it shut down more than two weeks ago, Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl Jae told reporters today in Seoul, without setting a withdrawal date. North Korea ignored a noon deadline to accept an offer for talks on re-opening the factory.
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North Koreas National Defense Commission threatened final, decisive and serious measures against the Souths ultimatums, according to a statement on the official Korean Central News Agency. The South should withdraw its citizens from Gaeseong if concerned about their well-being, KCNA said.
The complex, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the demilitarized zone between the two countries, employs more than 53,000 North Koreans at 123 South Korean companies. North Korea generates $100 million in annual profits there, while South Korea makes quadruple that amount, according to Yang Moo Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-26/south-korea-pulls-out-of-joint-factory-after-north-rejects-talks.html
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)premium
(3,731 posts)Because that's exactly what N. Korea is doing, they depend on the money generated from this complex for their budget, S. Korea doesn't really need it.
Now I suppose that N. Korea will start issuing it's threats again.
Wednesdays
(17,249 posts)Whatever happens, let's hope they keep it operational.