2nd LD) N. Korea threatens to partially shut inter-Korean border

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more details, background; ADDS byline)
By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's military on Wednesday threatened to
partially restrict overland passages through the border with South Korea in a
move likely to further chill already frayed ties between the two neighbors.
All passages across the military demarcation line by car will be "strictly
restricted or shut" starting Dec. 1, the North's military said in a telephone
message to the South Korean military authorities.
"The South Korean puppet authorities' racket for confrontation with the DPRK is
going beyond the danger level despite repeated warnings," said the message,
carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. The warning comes as
Pyongyang has been increasingly vocal about the flying of propaganda leaflets
over the border into the North by South Korean civic groups.
The North indicated the restriction is only the beginning of a spate of
retaliatory measures against what it calls Seoul's confrontational policy by
saying the two Koreas are facing a full-scale severance of relations.
Seoul "should not forget that current North-South relations are at the critical
juncture just before a full-scale severance of ties," the message said.
Pyongyang has repeatedly threatened to take retaliatory measures, which could
include shutting down the inter-Korean industrial complex in the North Korean
border town of Kaesong unless Seoul prevents civic groups from flying balloons
carrying the leaflets.
The Seoul-based groups, made up mostly of North Korean defectors, have continued
to send leaflets despite Pyongyang's threats and requests from Seoul to halt
their activities.
Last Thursday, the North's National Defense Commission, chaired by leader Kim
Jong-il, inspected the Kaesong complex in an apparent attempt to pressure Seoul
into making concessions to the North, according to Seoul officials.
The North Korean officials asked managers of the South Korean firms operating
there how long it would take for them to pull out, the officials said.
In the message, Lieutenant Gen. Kim Yong-chol, the North's top delegate to the
inter-Korean general-level talks, added that he issued the message on behalf of
unspecified upper-level authorities, which could mean the North Korean military.
"The South Korean authorities' unchanging position and attitude towards the two
historic declarations has finally been confirmed," Kim said, referring to what he
called Seoul's denial of agreements reached during the inter-Korean summits in
2000 and 2007.
Pyongyang has called on Seoul to observe the two summit agreements, which include
the creation of dozens of new cross-border economic cooperation projects, though
Seoul insists it has never denied them.
Political relations between the two Koreas have been strained since the launch of
the conservative South Korean government, led by President Lee Myung-bak, in late
February. Lee took office on a pledge to link inter-Korean relations to the
North's nuclear disarmament.
The Kaesong industrial park, where about 35,000 North Koreans work for 83 South
Korean manufacturers, has so far not been affected by the chilled relations.
sshim@yna.co.kr
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