North Korea has refused to accept South Korea’s letter protesting the North’s unilateral revisions to labor regulations at the inter-Korean Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
 
A Unification Ministry official said the South sought to deliver a message regarding its formal position on the matter both on Monday and Tuesday but the North officially refused to accept it.
 
The official said that in refusing to accept the message, the North had claimed that it was exercising its sovereign power in revising the labor regulations, adding that the South is in no position to meddle in the matter.
 
In a statement issued under the name of the Unification Ministry spokesman, Seoul said it deeply regrets the North’s move to unilaterally alter the labor rules and refuse to accept the South’s messages on the issue.
 
The government then stressed that South Korea will not tolerate any system changes without consultations between the two Koreas’ related authorities. The government said Seoul will sternly respond to Pyongyang if it continues to take unilateral steps.
 
Late last month, the North amended 13 provisions in the labor regulations for the industrial park’s workers, including scrapping its five-percent ceiling on wage increases for its workers at the complex.