About 12-hundred South Koreans have returned to the South from the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.

The group includes officials of the Gaeseong Industrial District Management Committee and the South-North Economic Cooperation Office.

Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun said during a briefing on Friday that North Korea has allowed as many as 17-hundred South Koreans to remain in the inter-Korean joint industrial park. Originally, some 42-hundred South Koreans had been authorized to reside in the North.

The cross-border train services between Munsan in the South and Bongdong in the North were also suspended Saturday.

In addition, South Korean tours to Gaeseong operated by Seoul-based Hyundai Asan Corporation were also halted after the last group of tourists returned to the South on Friday.

North Korea earlier ordered half of South Korean staff and officials out of the Gaeseong complex by the end of this month in retaliation for what it claims are Seoul’s anti-North Korea policies.