The continuing tensions on the Korean Peninsula spread to the business community. Operations at Kaesong are in limbo after Pyongyang shut down the joint industrial complex last week.

South Korean businessmen are still waiting for permission to enter the complex. Lines of vehicles and piles of goods are stuck at the heavily fortified border. The joint industrial zone of the DPRK and South Korea is home to more than one hundred South Korean businesses.

According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, there are currently 209 South Korean workers at the complex. Three of them are expected to return home later on Wednesday. Earlier today, the South Korean government urged for a normalization of operations at the Kaesong industrial complex.

Kim Hyung-Suk, spokesman of South Korean Unification Ministry, said, "The South Korean government regrets that the DPRK has refused the request of South Korean companies to visit their factories in Kaesong and pass on messages to the DPRK side, and humanitarian aid in the form of basic food and medical provisions. We once again strongly urge the DPRK to take responsible measures so that the remaining South Korean workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex can maintain basic living conditions, and so that operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex can be normalised."

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