North Korean propaganda website Uriminzokkiri repeated its claims that the fate of the Gaeseong industrial zone jointly operated with the South is wholly dependent on the attitudes of the South Korean government.

In an editorial, Uriminzokkiri claimed that South Korean authorities cannot escape blame for turning the Gaeseong complex into a place for acute conflict among the Korean people.

The editorial emphasized that North Korea did not seek profit by creating the Gaeseong complex, arguing that Pyongyang wanted the Gaeseong zone to be the symbol for reconciliation, cooperation, peace and prosperity.

The editorial said South Korea used Gaeseong as a tool to destroy the North Korean regime and seek reunification through democracy, and said it is passing on all the blame for the Gaeseong closure, even as it withdrew all of its people from the area.