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North Korea bars South delegation from joint zone

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South Korean representatives of the business companies at Kaesong greet a car carrying sacks of clothes made in North Korea's Kaesong joint industrial complex on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

North Korea on Wednesday barred a delegation of South Korean businessmen from delivering food and supplies to 200 of their staff inside the closed Kaesong joint industrial zone.

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Ten representatives of the 123 South Korean firms in Kaesong had applied for permission to visit the zone, two weeks after the North blocked all access amid soaring military tensions on the Korean peninsula.

“Moments ago, North Korea informed us that the request for a visit by 10 representatives of the business companies at Kaesong had been turned down,” Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-Seok said.

“It is very regrettable that the North has rejected the request and disallowed a humanitarian measure,” Kim said.

Kaesong, which lies 10 kilometres inside North Korea, was established in 2004 as a shining symbol of inter-Korean co-operation.

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Of the nearly 900 South Koreans who were in the zone when the North first cut off access on April 3, around 200 have opted not to leave in an effort to keep their companies running.

But the North’s action has left them without supplies of daily necessities, as well as raw materials.

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