South Korea shuttered a joint industrial zone in 2016 to punish North Korean provocations
The sudden closure of the Kaesong industrial zone in 2016 severed the last major economic link between North and South Korea, marking a dramatic shift toward total isolationism in the peninsula's modern history.
In 2016, South Korea made the drastic decision to suspend all operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. This joint venture was once a symbol of hope for reunification, where South Korean companies employed over 54,000 North Korean workers just miles across the border. The shutdown served as a direct punishment for North Korea's launch of the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 satellite, which the international community viewed as a disguised long-range missile test.
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