N. Korea reopens border to S. Koreans returning from Kaesong after 3 days of closure

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, March 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea told South Korea on Monday that it will
reopen the border for South Koreans to return from a joint industrial complex in
the communist state after three days of border closure, a Seoul spokesman said.
The notification, however, did not say whether it will also allow South Koreans
to cross into the North to visit the Kaesong complex.
"North Korea sent us a message at 9:20 a.m. that South Koreans who have been
waiting to return to the South since Friday will return this afternoon,"
Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun said.
North Korea had banned border crossings since on Friday for the second time last
week without providing any explanation. The North's first border closure a week
ago was done in protest over an ongoing military exercise between South Korea and
the United States. Border crossings resumed the next day and continued until last
Thursday.
The Kaesong industrial complex, an outcome of the first inter-Korean summit in
2000, is the last remaining reconciliatory project since damaged relations led to
the suspension of South Korean tours to North Korea's scenic and historic spots
last year.
More than 720 South Koreans currently remain in the Kaesong complex. Nearly half
of about 90 factories there will have to stop production if raw materials are not
delivered by Monday, their South Korean offices said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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