Pyongyang blames South Korean leader Park for Kaesong closure

North Korea on Thursday renewed a threat to permanently close its Kaesong joint industrial zone with South Korea, blaming the “confrontation” policies of the South’s new president, Park Geun-hye.

Pyongyang announced the withdrawal of its 53,000 workers and the suspension of operations at Kaesong at the beginning of this week, as military tensions on the Korean peninsula soar.

Park, who was sworn in at the end of February, described the move as “very disappointing” and warned the North it would severely impact the trust of future investors.

“Needless to say Kaesong industrial district will cease to exist should the Park Geun-hye regime continue pursuing confrontation,” the North’s Bureau for Central Guidance to the Development of the Special Zone said.

“The current power-holder in the South can never be able to shake off responsibility for having Kaesong, which survived even the traitor Lee Myung-bak’s term in office, all but closed,” a bureau spokesman said.

During her presidential campaign, Park had said she would be more flexible in dealing with the North than her predecessor Lee, who took a hardline stance toward Pyongyang.