N Korea to close border in protest

North Korea will "strictly restrict and cut off all the overland passages" with South Korea from Dec 1.

South Korean ex President Roh Moo-Hyun's procession of cars passes by the memorial stone monument of the 2007 South-North Korean summit placed in front of the Southern Gates of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Paju on October 3, 2007.
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North Korea said today it would close its border with South Korea from next month in protest at what it called Seoul's confrontational stance, a move that could cripple a joint industrial estate. The communist state announced a measure "to strictly restrict and cut off all the overland passages" would take effect from Dec 1, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. A total closure of the heavily fortified border would effectively shut down the Seoul-funded Kaesong industrial complex built just north of the frontier as a symbol of reconciliation.

It would also halt a popular tourist trip to Kaesong city. South Korea's unification ministry expressed regret and urged the North to restart stalled dialogue. Spokesman Kim Ho-Nyoun said he did not believe the North intends a complete closure. Today's announcement follows months of icy relations, including threats by the North to expel South Koreans from Kaesong in protest at the spreading of cross-border propaganda leaflets by Seoul activists.

KCNA said the move was in response to Seoul's failure to honour agreements reached at summits between the North and the South in 2000 and 2007. It said the border restrictions were the "first step" in response. Seoul's confrontational moves were "going beyond the danger level", it added. "The South Korean puppet authorities should never forget that the present inter-Korean relations are at the crucial crossroads of existence and total severance."

The head of the North's delegation to military talks with the South sent a notice of the ban to Seoul's armed forces today. Cross-border relations soured after the conservative South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak took office in February. He promised to take a firmer line with the North after a decade-long "sunshine" engagement policy. Mr Lee said he would review summit agreements between the North and his liberal predecessors, which envisage joint economic projects costing tens of billions of dollars.

The North is also angry with South Korean activists who launch balloons carrying hundreds of thousands of leaflets across the heavily fortified border. These criticise leader Kim Jong-Il as a dictator and repeat suggestions that he is in poor health - an especially sensitive topic. South Korean officials have said he suffered a stroke in August but is recovering. The ministry spokesman Mr Kim called the move "regrettable".

*AFP