Pyongyang expels 11 ROK officials

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) expelled some officials of the Republic of Korea (ROK) from a joint factory park north of the border yesterday.

The predawn expulsion of the officials at the Kaesong industrial site, once hailed as a model of economic cooperation, is one of the most aggressive moves in years by the DPRK against the ROK.

The ROK's presidential Blue House spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said after an emergency meeting that Pyongyang's measure "was a very regrettable incident that could damage progress of economic cooperation between the South and the North".