North Korea said it was responding to Seoul's shutdown order by immediately deporting the hundreds of South Koreans who work at the complex just across the world's most heavily armed border in the city of Kaesong, pulling out the tens of thousands of North Korean employees and freezing all South Korean assets.
An immediate worry in Seoul was whether all South Korean workers would be allowed to leave. Some analysts speculated that the North would hold onto some to get all the wages owed North Korean workers.
The North's moves significantly raised the stakes in a standoff that began with North Korea's nuclear test last month, followed by a long-range rocket launch on Sunday that outsiders see as a banned test of ballistic missile technology.
South Korea responded today by beginning work to suspend operations at the factory park, one of its harshest possible punishment options.
Well after the deadline passed, a South Korean manager at Kaesong told The Associated Press by phone that he had been instructed to wait for further instructions from South Korean officials.
The manager at a South Korean apparel company at the complex, who declined to give his name, said he and one other South Korean at his company were waiting in an office for word about when they could leave.
"I was told not to bring anything but personal goods, so I've got nothing but my clothes to take back," the man said, adding that he wasn't worried about being taken hostage.
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