In Korea, economic co-operation feels the chill
As the belligerent posturing ramps up, the effect hits a jointly managed factory in the North Korean city of Kaesong - a symbol, until now, of rapprochement
A South Korean truck driver changes his South Korean license plate to one authorized by North Korea before leaving the South's CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine) office to go to the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea, just south of the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul, April 1, 2013. North Korea said on Saturday it was entering a "state of war" with South Korea, but Seoul and the United States played down the statement as tough talk. Pyongyang also threatened to close a border industrial zone, the last remaining example of inter-Korean cooperation which gives the North access to $2-billion in trade a year.LEE JAE-WON/Reuters
South Korean vehicles wait to head to the North Korean city of Kaesong at the customs, immigration and quarantine office in Paju, South Korea, near the border village of Panmunjom, Monday, April 1, 2013. North Korea threatened in recent days to shut down a jointly run factory complex in Kaesong the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean rapprochement. But officials in Seoul said hundreds of workers traveled as usual across the heavily armed border to the North Korean factory Monday as they have throughout the rising tensions.Ahn Young-joon/The Associated Press
South Korean vehicles return from the North Korean city of Kaesong at the customs, immigration and quarantine office in Paju, South Korea, near the border village of Panmunjom, Wednesday, April 3, 2013. North Korea on Wednesday barred South Korean workers from entering a jointly run factory park just over the heavily armed border in the North, officials in Seoul said, a day after Pyongyang announced it would restart its long-shuttered plutonium reactor and increase production of nuclear weapons material.Ahn Young-joon/The Associated Press
An unidentified South Korean man, second from right, is surrounded by the media after returning from the North Korean city of Kaesong at the customs, immigration and quarantine office in Paju, South Korea, near the border village of Panmunjom,Wednesday, April 3, 2013. North Korea on Wednesday barred South Korean workers from entering a jointly run factory park just over the heavily armed border in the North, officials in Seoul said, a day after Pyongyang announced it would restart its long-shuttered plutonium reactor and increase production of nuclear weapons material.Ahn Young-joon/The Associated Press
A South Korean soldier keeps watch as South Korean trucks return to South Korea's CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine) after they were banned from entering the Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea, just south of the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul, April 3, 2013. North Korean authorities were not allowing any South Korean workers into a joint industrial park on Wednesday, South Korea's Unification Ministry and a Reuters witness said, adding to tensions between the two countries.KIM HONG-JI/Reuters
A South Korean security guard keeps watch as South Korean trucks return to South Korea's CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine) after they were banned from entering the Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea, just south of the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul, April 3, 2013.KIM HONG-JI/Reuters
A South Korean security guard and truck drivers walk past trucks turning back to South Korea's CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine) after they were banned from entering the Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea, just south of the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul, April 3, 2013.KIM HONG-JI/Reuters
South Korean security guards keep watch as South Korean trucks return to South Korea's CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine) after they were banned from entering the Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea, just south of the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul, April 3, 2013.KIM HONG-JI/Reuters
South Korean soldiers walk on an empty road connecting the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) with South Korea's CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine), just south of the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul, April 3, 2013.KIM HONG-JI/Reuters
A South Korean employee at the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) speaks to the media upon his arrival at South Korea's CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine) office, just south of the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul, April 3, 2013.KIM HONG-JI/Reuters
A South Korean worker walks on an empty road connecting the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) with South Korea's CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine), just south of the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul, April 3, 2013.KIM HONG-JI/Reuters