North Korea again blocks access to industrial zone

North Korea blocked access to its joint industrial zone with South Korea for a second consecutive day on Thursday, an AFP journalist near the border between the two countries said. About 40 vehicles were waiting to cross the border to go to the Seoul-invested Kaesong complex but turned around after a loudspeaker announcement that crossings to the North were prohibited, he said. A total of 526 South Koreans and 421 vehicles had planned to cross the border into North Korea on Thursday, the Unification Ministry in Seoul said. Pyongyang on Wednesday informed Seoul it was stopping the daily movement of South Koreans to the Seoul-funded Kaesong complex -- 10 kilometres (six miles) inside the North Korean border. It did not specify how long the blockage would last. However, it added that hundreds of South Koreans currently in the industrial zone were free to leave.