N. Korea may fully shut down Kaesong: minister

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government has not ruled out the possibility that North Korea may altogether shut down a joint industrial complex in the city of Kaesong, Seoul's unification minister said Wednesday.

The remarks come as Pyongyang announced Monday it would expel a number of South
Koreans working at the complex and halt the only cross-border freight train
service.
The communist state's latest steps are viewed as an attempt to pressure South
Korean President Lee Myung-bak to soften his stance towards North Korea and
fulfill bilateral accords minted under his liberal predecessors.
"I'd like to think it is an unlikely option, but we are not eliminating the
possibility completely," Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong said during
parliamentary session Wednesday of Kaesong's potential shut-down.
Kim said that if Pyongyang does shutter the complex, Seoul is prepared to pay up
to 250 billion won (US$166 million) in compensation to companies operating in
Kaesong.
Relations between the two Koreas began to sour after the conservative Lee
administration took office in February. Pyongyang has frequently and harshly
criticized Lee and his policies.
North Korea also said on Monday it would bar South Korean tourists from Kaesong
beginning Dec. 1, dealing a blow to Hyundai Asan, who operates tours to the
ancient city.
Operations at the joint industrial complex will be jeopardized if Pyongyang
carries out its most recent threats, which it called "primary measures." The zone
is seen as the last remaining symbol of reconciliation after tours to Mount
Geumgang were suspended in July following the shooting death of a South Korean
tourist there.
Currently 88 South Korean companies are operating factories in Kaesong with more
than 1,500 officials residing in the complex.
"North Korea's recent decision is hardly due to our government's hardline policy.
It is mostly due to its unwillingness to resume dialogue," Minister Kim said.
"Our principle remains the same: We will find solution via dialogue."
Breaking with the "sunshine" policy of engagement pushed by his predecessors,
President Lee has made clear on several occasions that his government will not
expand inter-Korean cooperation projects until North Korea abandons all of its
nuclear ambitions.
The six-party talks on North Korea's denuclearization are slated to resume in
Beijing early next month. The talks have been faltering lately due to disagreement
between Pyongyang and Washington over how to verify North Korea's nuclear
declaration.
The two Koreas, which technically remain at war, are both party to the
aid-for-denuclearization talks, along with China, Japan, Russia and the United
States.