North Korea said Wednesday it will ban South Korean workers from entering the inter-Korean industrial park in Gaeseong, only allowing South Koreans currently staying at the border town to return home.
The abrupt entry ban came after Pyongyang threatened to shut down the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and launch a pre-emptive nuclear war on Seoul and Washington over South Korea-U.S. joint military drills and U.N. sanctions for its latest nuclear test.
Seoul's Ministry of Unification said that it received an official notification from the North earlier in the day stating the restrictions.
"South Korea's government deeply regrets the entry ban and urges it to be lifted immediately," ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk said in a press conference.
The official pointed out that the latest action by the communist country will impede normal operations at the site. He stressed Seoul will make every effort to ensure the safety of South Korean nationals at the industrial site.