S. Korea urges N. Korea to reopen border

SEOUL, March 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Saturday urged North Korea to reopen
the inter-Korean border as hundreds of South Koreans remained stranded at an
industrial park in the North.
"Our government delivered a verbal message by phone urging North Korea to
normalize the situation," Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun said,
confirming the message had been received.
The North sealed off the crossing a day earlier for the second time this week
amid rising tensions over its planned rocket launch. Seoul officials could not
say why the North closed the border again.
Pyongyang shut crossings on Monday in protest of a joint military drill being
carried out by South Korea and the United States. The measure was withdrawn the
next day.
More than 760 South Koreans are currently working in the North, mostly at the
industrial park in the border town of Kaesong. About 420 of them were scheduled
to return since Friday, but the North has so far allowed only five people -- one
South Korean, who was getting married on Sunday, and four foreigners -- to leave.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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