Off the wire
• Urgent: DPRK cancels approval of UN chief's visit to Kaesong complex: report  • Dollar changes hands in upper 120 yen zone in early Tokyo deals  • Japan's GDP grows annualized 2.4 pct in Q1  • Xinhua world news summary at 0000 GMT, May 20  • Local elections in Benin postponed to June 28  • China advocates greater North-South cooperation for post-2015 development agenda  • (Special for CAFS) S. Africa to release preliminary report on xenophobic violence by June  • More than 450 scholars urge Japan to squarely address history issues  • Roundup: Dow extends record run on upbeat data  • Spotlight: New technology to expand wind energy to whole U.S.  
You are here: 　 Home

2nd LD: DPRK cancels approval of UN chief's visit to Kaesong complex

Xinhua, May 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has canceled its earlier approval of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Thursday visit to the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

Ban was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying in a speech for a forum in Seoul that Pyongyang "suddenly" notified him of the cancellation through diplomatic channels earlier in the morning without any explanations.

He said it was very regrettable, noting that he will continue efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula in cooperation with the international community.

The UN chief arrived in South Korea Monday to attend the World Education Forum (WEF) that kicked off Tuesday in Incheon, the western port city of the country.

Ban told a press conference in Incheon that he will visit the inter-Korean industrial zone in Kaesong on May 21 after consulting with both South Korea and the DPRK.

The Kaesong industrial zone, launched in late 2004 and jointly managed by the two sides, has been seen as one of the key symbols of inter-Korean economic cooperation. Some 120 South Korean companies hiring 53,000 DPRK workers are operating in the park. Endi