North Korea has rebuffed South Korea’s demand for negotiations to reopen a jointly owned factory park, escalating tensions in an already volatile situation.
The North has been issuing threats of nuclear war against South Korea, Japan and the United States for weeks.
Earlier this month, Northern authorities abruptly clamped access to a factory park that’s owned and operated by the two nations, cutting off some workers and angering the South. The North also pulled its own workers from the site. Thursday, South Korean ministers told the North to step up to the plate and discuss the fate of the factory, else face “grave” consequences.
Friday, North Korea said no, The Associated Press reported.
Now the ball is in South Korea’s court to define what those “grave measures” entail.
The factory is located inside North Korea, in the border village of Kaesong.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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