North Korea ignores Seoul deadline for talks
North Korea ignores Seoul-set deadline for response to talks on shuttered factory park
FILE - In this June 22, 2006 file photo, North Koreans work at a factory of South Korean apparel maker Shinwon company in the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, North Korea. South Korea on Thursday, April 25, 2013 warned of an unspecified "grave measure" if North Korea rejects talks on the jointly run factory park shuttered for nearly a month - setting up the possible end of the last remaining major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korea says Pyongyang has ignored Seoul's deadline for responding to a demand for talks on a shuttered inter-Korean factory park.
Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk said Friday that Seoul is considering countermeasures but refused to discuss what they might be.
Pyongyang barred South Korean managers and cargo from entering North Korea's Kaesong factory complex this month and recalled 53,000 North Korean workers. Seoul promised unspecified "grave measures" if Pyongyang didn't respond to its demand for talks by noon Friday (0300GMT).
Some analysts said Seoul may pull out the roughly 175 South Korean managers who remain at the complex.
The suspension came amid weeks of North Korean threats aimed at Washington and Seoul over joint military drills and U.N. sanctions meant to penalize Pyongyang over its February nuclear test.
