N. Korea threatens to shut inter-Korean border next month

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details)
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's military on Wednesday threatened to
"strictly restrict and cut off all the overland passages" through the Military
Demarcation Line, starting on Dec. 1, in retaliation for South Korea's failure to
abide by the existing inter-Korean summit agreements.
In a telephone message sent to the South Korean military, the North's military
said it has decided to take the "actual crucial measure" to control the overland
passages through the inter-Korean border, as the first punitive step against the
South. The message was carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency.
"The South Korean authorities are getting frantic in their racket for
confrontation with the DPRK, while paying lip-service to respect for the June 15
joint declaration and the October 4 declaration... and resumption of dialogue for
implementing them," the North Korean military said in the message. DPRK, or the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is the North's official name.
"The South Korean authorities' unchanged stand and attitude towards the historic
two declarations have been finally confirmed... The racket of confrontation with
the DPRK kicked up by the South Korean authorities including the military, in
particular, is going beyond the
danger level despite its repeated warnings."
ycm@yna.co.kr
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