South Korea says to suspend operations at joint factory park with North

SEOUL - South Korea said on Wednesday it would suspend operations at a factory park just north of the inter-Korean border run jointly with North Korea following the North's long-range rocket launch over the weekend.

South Korean Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo told a media briefing that Seoul had notified Pyongyang of its plan to suspend operations at Kaesong, the last remaining project of economic co-operation between the two Koreas, and would take necessary measures for the safe return of South Korean nationals there.

Hong said suspending operations was "to stop funds for the Kaesong Industrial Complex from being used for North Korea's development of missile and nuclear weapons programmes".