North takes over business park and cuts hotlines as Korea tensions mount

North Korea ratcheted up the tension with the South on Thursday by ordering a military takeover of a factory park which had been the last major symbol of co-operation between the warring neighbours. It called Seoul’s decision to suspend operations at the jointly run facility in retaliation for the North’s recent rocket launch a “dangerous declaration of war.” The North also deported the hundreds of South Koreans who work at the complex just across the world’s most heavily armed border in the city of Kaesong. It withdrew the tens of thousands of North Korean employees and froze all South Korean assets. A shut-down of  two crucial cross-border communication hotlines was also ordered.

I was told not to bring anything but personal goods, so I’ve got nothing but my clothes to take back

South Korean manager at one of the jointly run businesses

Earlier, North Korea released TV footage of the launch of a rocket it says put a satellite into space. Pictures show the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un talking to members of his staff at the control centre before the blast-off. Then, after the device leaves the gantry and heads into the atmosphere, he is seen grinning as his commanders take notes. In a state TV broadcast, a North Korean presenter said the “epochal” launch was personally ordered by the leader. The country claimed the launch was a “complete success” and the satellite was making a polar orbit of Earth every 94 minutes.

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