South Korea started withdrawing workers from the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North, Thursday.
The government announced Wednesday it would shut down operations at the inter-Korean complex in the border city of Gaeseong, as a countermeasure following a nuclear test and rocket launch by Pyongyang.
"The government is seeking to withdraw South Koreans from there as soon as possible," a Unification Ministry official said.
According to the ministry, North Korean workers did not show up at the complex Thursday.
A total of 124 South Korean companies have been doing business in the complex, which opened in 2004 as a reconciliatory move between the Koreas.
About 54,000 North Koreans are employed producing clothing and other labor-intensive goods, generating around $100 million a year for the cash-strapped communist state.
The move to close operations seeks to cut off Pyongyang's source of hard currency amid international calls for stronger sanctions, following its nuclear bomb test on Jan. 6 and long-range rocket launch this week.
The South Korean move aims to prevent money from Gaeseong from being used to develop nuclear and missile weapon development, the ministry said.