N. Korea warns Seoul not to wreck Kaesong industrial complex

North Korea warned Tuesday that if South Korea moves to shut down a joint industrial complex at the center of new friction between the two sides, it will never be pardoned.

The two Koreas are at loggerheads over how to do with the joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong whose future has been thrown into doubt after both sides withdrew all of their manpower from the zone.

In a commentary by its government newspaper Minju Joson, North Korea argued that the current trouble being faced by the joint industrial complex must have been premeditated by South Korea.

But it was North Korea that created the trouble for the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The North abruptly withdrew all of its 53,000 workers from the zone on April 9, blaming South Korea for holding joint military exercises with the U.S.

South Korea responded by deciding last week to pull out all of its manpower from the complex. On Tuesday, only seven South Koreans remain there, and they will all be withdrawn as soon as accounting and other outstanding issues are cleared, according to Seoul officials.

In the newspaper commentary, carried by its Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea accused the Seoul government of trying to cover up its premeditated scheme to scuttle the project by pledging to provide financial assistance to companies in financial strain.

"No one will be fooled by such a poor trick," the commentary said.

Some North Korean watchers in Seoul speculated that while Minju Josun's claim is primarily intended to hold South Korea accountable, it may be a sign that Pyongyang does not want to take the first step to close down the industrial park completely.

The complex that started churning out garments and other labor-intensive products in late 2004, remains the last symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation, after Seoul severed all ties following the sinking of one of its warships in 2010.

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