S. Korea expresses regret over N. Korea`s threat to shut border

(ATTN: UPDATES with quotes by experts, Hyundai Asan officials; CHANGES lead)
By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Wednesday expressed regret over North Korea's decision to partially shut its border with the South, a move which experts say is aimed at pushing Seoul back into rapprochement with Pyongyang.

"North Korea's announcement that it will take measures to limit passage across
the border is regrettable," Kim Ho-nyoun, spokesman for the Unification Ministry,
said in a statement.
"If the North carries out such measures, it will have a negative impact on
efforts to improve inter-Korean relations," he said.
The spokesman reiterated, however, that Seoul remains hopeful that North Korea
will return to dialogue with Seoul.
Earlier on Wednesday, North Korea's military threatened to "strictly restrict and
cut off" all overland passage through the military demarcation line starting Dec.
1 in protest over Seoul's "confrontational" policy.
The warning comes as Pyongyang has grown increasingly vocal over South Korean
civic groups' flying of propaganda leaflets over the border by balloon.
"The racket of confrontation with the DPRK kicked up by the South Korean puppet
authorities is going beyond the danger level despite its repeated warnings," the
North's military said in a statement carried by Pyongyang's official Korean
Central News Agency.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of
North Korea.
The North indicated in the statement that the restriction is only the beginning
of a spate of retaliatory measures that could ultimately lead to the complete
severing of inter-Korean relations.
Seoul "should never forget that present inter-Korean relations are at a crucial
crossroads of existence and total severance," the statement said.
The message was officially issued by Lt. Gen. Kim Yong-chol, the North's top
delegate to the inter-Korean general-level talks. Kim communicated that he was
speaking on behalf of unspecified high-level authorities, likely North Korea's
all- powerful National Defense Commission.
"The South Korean puppet authorities' unchanged position and attitude towards the
two historic declarations has been finally confirmed," Kim said, referring to
what he called Seoul's denial of agreements reached during the inter-Korean
summits of 2000 and 2007.
Hundreds of South Koreans cross the border every day for business or
tourism-related purposes despite the chilled relations, according to Seoul
officials.
Tightened border control would negatively impact cooperative efforts at the
Kaesong joint industrial complex near the west coast, officials said.
More than 35,000 North Koreans are earning US$60 a month by working for 83 South
Korean manufacturers at the Kaesong complex, a symbol of inter-Korean peace and
cooperation.
Experts say the North's renewed threat appears to be aimed at pressuring Seoul to
drop its tough stance toward Pyongyang following liberal candidate Barack Obama's
White House victory, rather than actually abandoning the Kaesong complex.
Obama said during his presidential campaign that he is ready to meet with North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il, and has been critical of the George W. Bush
administration's refusal to engage Pyongyang.
"North Korea did not take any immediate step to shut overland crossings, which
shows things can change depending on the South's response," said Koh Yu-hwan,
professor of Seoul's Dongguk University. "Closing the Kaesong complex could also
become a burden to the North," he added.
Kim Yeon-churl, chief of the private Hankyoreh Peace Research Institute, said
Pyongyang will likely increase its threats in expectation of Seoul's policy
change.
Pyongyang has repeatedly threatened to take retaliatory measures, which could
include shutting down the inter-Korean industrial park, unless Seoul prevents
civic groups from flying balloons carrying anti-North leaflets.
The North has called the leaflets -- which reportedly elaborate on North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il's luxurious private life as well as rumors of his illness --
an unpardonable challenge to the North's "supreme sovereignty."
U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials have said the 66-year-old North
Korean leader suffered a stroke in August. The North has vehemently denied those
reports.
South Korean civic groups, many of whose members are North Korean defectors, have
continued to send the leaflets despite Pyongyang's threats and requests from
Seoul to halt their activities.
Last Thursday, a delegation from the North's National Defense Commission
inspected the Kaesong complex in an apparent attempt to pressure Seoul into
making concessions, Seoul officials said.
The North Korean officials reportedly asked the managers of South Korean firms
operating in Kaesong how long it would take for them to fully withdraw.
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 not observed them.
Political relations between the two Koreas have been strained since the
conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in late February,
pledging to link inter-Korean relations to the North's nuclear disarmament.
Hyundai Asan, operator of the tour program to Kaesong, meanwhile, said it has yet
to receive any official notice from North Korea on the suspension of the tours
following Pyongyang's announcement on Wednesday.
"We haven't received any message from the North," a Hyundai Asan official said,
requesting anonymity. "We hope, however, that there will be no impact on our tour
program."
Tours to another North Korean area, Mount Geumgang, have been suspended since a
South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier after allegedly
entering a restricted military zone in July.
sshim@yna.co.kr
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