N. Korea closes inter-Korean Red Cross dialogue channel

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details of statement)
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea announced Wednesday it was closing its Red Cross liaison office and all direct telephone links at the truce village of Panmunjom in retaliation against Seoul's "confrontational" policy.

The North's announcement came in a statement criticizing Seoul's recent
participation as a sponsor of a U.S. resolution criticizing North Korea's human
rights abuses.
The reclusive country earlier in the day threatened to partially shut its border
with the South.
North Korea's military threatened to "strictly restrict and cut off" all overland
passage through the military demarcation line starting Dec. 1.
Inter-Korean relations have worsened since the conservative, pro-U.S. South
Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February, pledging to link
inter-Korean relations to North Korea's nuclear disarmament.
sshim@yna.co.kr
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