North Threatens to Withdraw Workers

In its latest move to ratchet up inter-Korean tensions, North Korea has threatened to withdraw its workers from the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), saying that it has only stayed open this long thanks to the magnanimity of the North Korean government.

Speaking with Chosun Central News Agency, a spokesperson for North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said that the KIC would be closed if South Korea continues to use it as leverage against the North.

“Were the South Chosun puppet party and conservative media to continue messing around and mouthing off about the zone, we would take the stern measure of withdrawing all our workers from it,” the spokesperson warned

In reference to a past threat to return the zone to its former use as a military base, the spokesperson also noted, “It would be good for the puppet party to watch what it says, mindful that the Kaesong Industrial Complex is just 40km from Seoul.”

“The puppet party should remember that the Kaesong Industrial Complex is on the verge of bankruptcy,” the spokesperson concluded.

Earlier, ‘Uriminzzokiri TV’, a propaganda entity targeting South Korea that is run by the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, also threatened the complex with bankruptcy if the South continues to besmirch North Korea’s reputation.