Workers prepare clothes at a factory of South Korean apparel maker Shinwon company in the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, just a few hundred metres (yards) north of the heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone that divides the Korean peninsula in this May 26, 2005 file photo.(Xinhua/Reuters File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    PYONGYANG, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday declared the contracts of a joint factory zone with South Korea null and void, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

    The General Administration of Central Special District Development sent a notification to South Korea, saying that the agreements on wages, taxes, and land rent for the Kaesong industrial zone were "null and void" and it would revise the rules.

    It said the South Korean companies in Kaesong must accept the new regulations unconditionally, and they can leave Kaesong "if they are unwilling to accept them."

    The notification accused South Korea of delaying contact over new agreements and raising the issue of a detained South Korean worker as precondition for contact. The future of the industrial zone depends entirely on South Korea's attitude, it said.

    A South Korean employee at Kaesong was arrested on March 30 for allegedly criticizing the DPRK's regime and trying to persuade a local female worker to defect.

    Some 38,000 DPRK people work at 101 South Korean companies in Kaesong that produce garments, kitchenware, watches and other items.

Workers sew clothes at a factory of South Korean apparel maker Shinwon company in the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, just a few hundred metres (yards) north of the heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone that divides the Korean peninsula in this May 26, 2005 file photo.(Xinhua/Reuters File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

S Korea says won't accept Pyongyang's nullification of Kaesong contracts 

   SEOUL, May 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea will not accept the unilateral decision of the nullification of Kaesong contracts, said a spokesman of the Unification Ministry on Friday.

    The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said earlier Friday that all contracts with South Korea over a joint industrial venture in the border city of DPRK's Kaesong are no longer valid, accusing Seoul of being "insincere" in negotiations and suggesting Pyongyang may even shut the complex down. Full story