ID :
53838
Sun, 04/05/2009 - 08:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/53838
The shortlink copeid
S. Koreans cancel visits to Pyongyang ahead of rocket launch
SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) -- South Koreans canceled visits to Pyongyang on Saturday ahead of the North's imminent rocket launch, following Seoul's advice to stay away from North Korea for safety reasons, an official said.
The number of South Korean workers at a joint industrial complex in the North's
border town of Kaesong was also scaled down, said Lee Jong-joo, spokeswoman for
the Unification Ministry.
North Korea said earlier it will launch what it calls communications satellite
Kwangmyongsong-2 into orbit "soon." Seoul spotted monitoring cameras set up
around the launch pad in Musudan-ri, North Hamgyong Province on the northeastern
coast, in a possible indication that the launch will occur within hours.
Those who planned to travel to the North Korean capital canceled their plans, Lee
said, and all but one of the 82 South Koreans staying there, mostly businessmen
running joint ventures or humanitarian workers, left on flights to China's
Beijing and Shenyang. One person insisted he would stay in Pyongyang, the
spokeswoman said.
The South Korean government had issued an advisory on Friday to "minimize visits
to North Korea in order to ensure the safety of our citizens before and after the
rocket launch."
Hundreds of South Korean workers will also leave a joint industrial complex in
Kaesong, just an hour's drive from Seoul, reducing the number of residents there
to less than 700 from the current 906, the spokeswoman said.
North Korea is currently holding a South Korean worker and two U.S. journalists
for violating its laws. The North said it will not grant Seoul access to the
detained worker until after its investigation is completed. The unidentified
worker of Hyundai Asan Corp., the developer of the Kaesong complex, has been
detained since Monday for allegedly denouncing the North's political system and
encouraging a female North Korean employee to defect.
Pyongyang said it is preparing to indict the two U.S. journalists being held on
charges of illegal entry and unspecified "hostile acts."
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
The number of South Korean workers at a joint industrial complex in the North's
border town of Kaesong was also scaled down, said Lee Jong-joo, spokeswoman for
the Unification Ministry.
North Korea said earlier it will launch what it calls communications satellite
Kwangmyongsong-2 into orbit "soon." Seoul spotted monitoring cameras set up
around the launch pad in Musudan-ri, North Hamgyong Province on the northeastern
coast, in a possible indication that the launch will occur within hours.
Those who planned to travel to the North Korean capital canceled their plans, Lee
said, and all but one of the 82 South Koreans staying there, mostly businessmen
running joint ventures or humanitarian workers, left on flights to China's
Beijing and Shenyang. One person insisted he would stay in Pyongyang, the
spokeswoman said.
The South Korean government had issued an advisory on Friday to "minimize visits
to North Korea in order to ensure the safety of our citizens before and after the
rocket launch."
Hundreds of South Korean workers will also leave a joint industrial complex in
Kaesong, just an hour's drive from Seoul, reducing the number of residents there
to less than 700 from the current 906, the spokeswoman said.
North Korea is currently holding a South Korean worker and two U.S. journalists
for violating its laws. The North said it will not grant Seoul access to the
detained worker until after its investigation is completed. The unidentified
worker of Hyundai Asan Corp., the developer of the Kaesong complex, has been
detained since Monday for allegedly denouncing the North's political system and
encouraging a female North Korean employee to defect.
Pyongyang said it is preparing to indict the two U.S. journalists being held on
charges of illegal entry and unspecified "hostile acts."
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
