SEOUL — Park Sung-chul knew the end was near when he saw the North Korean soldiers. Six uniformed men wanted to know how soon he could vacate his factory in the Kaesong industrial complex, a few miles north of the heavily fortified border with South Korea.
"I was a bit anxious," the Seoul fashion entrepreneur said of the recent visit. "Because I knew it would be extremely difficult to reestablish economic cooperation between two Koreas."
Today, Pyongyang made good on its threat to "restrict and cut off" traffic across its troubled border with the South, significantly reducing trade and ending all tourism in a move that further isolates North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's mysterious and reclusive state.
A spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Unification said today that northern officials had started to restrict border passage.
"North Korea will largely scale down the hours and number of South Koreans allowed to pass the border as expected," he said.
Analysts called the border rift the most serious in years, highlighting the deteriorating relations between the two Koreas, whose recent economic overtures had rekindled hopes for reunification after decades of brinkmanship.
Tensions rose in February after the election of conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, a hard-liner on Pyongyang, brought a review of the "sunshine policy" that had paved the way for billions of dollars in aid to the North without conditions.
Recently, North Korea bristled at public speculation in the South that Kim, 66, was weakened from a stroke. Seoul also continues to allow defectors to send political leaflets north via balloon, violating a pact prohibiting cross-border propaganda, North Korean officials say.
Analysts believe today's move also was directed at the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama, sending a message that North Korea is not a nation to be taken lightly. Pyongyang recently announced that international inspectors monitoring its nuclear program could not remove samples from the country.
The border closure ended daily cargo rail service and tours to historic downtown Kaesong, with its royal tombs and ancient relics. It also dealt a blow to South Korea's hopes to restart tours to a jointly run scenic resort in the North.
The tours to popular Mt. Kumgang were halted by Seoul in July when a South Korean tourist was killed by a North Korean soldier after she reportedly entered a restricted area. About 2 million people have visited the resort since tour operator Hyundai Asan Corp. began the excursions a decade ago.
