Korea, North
| North Korea implement border restrictions |
| 02 Dec 2008 |
| North Korea implemented border restrictions with South Korea on 1 December 2008. Border patrols were increased, and two checkpoints were closed after North Korean officials accused South Korea of not abiding by its agreements. Two major projects between the two countries -- the cross-border railway and the joint industrial complex in Kaesong -- have been severely affected by the closure, with South Koreans being expelled from the country. The number of employees with more than 88 Korean companies operating in Kaesong has been cut back by more than a fifth.
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| North Korea to shut border with the South |
| 24 Nov 2008 |
| North Korean officials stated on 24 November 2008 that as of 1 December, all movement between the Koreas will be suspended until further notice. These new restrictions will include the closure of the cross-border railway and the expulsion of South Koreans working in the Kaesong industrial zone in North Korea. North Korea stated that the measures are in retaliation for South Korea's failure to honor agreements reached in 2000 and 2007.
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| Officials in North Korea will close the country's border with South Korea |
| 12 Nov 2008 |
| On 12 November 2008 officials in North Korea announced that they will close the country's border with South Korea beginning on 1 December. The action will force the closure of joint projects between the countries, including a factory complex in Kaesong, at which more than 32,000 North Koreans are employed. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the decision was based on South Korea's harsher stance toward North Korea after years of relatively amicable relations; The KCNA report also accused Seoul of violating agreements that were concluded in 2000 and 2007. North Korean representatives indicated that the border closing will be followed by more government action against South Korea.
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| North Korea has been removed from a list of states that sponsor terrorism |
| 13 Oct 2008 |
| On 11 October 2008 U.S. government officials announced that North Korea has been removed from a list of states that sponsor terrorism. Authorities in North Korea pledged to cease the country's nuclear development program and to allow international inspectors into the Yongbyon atomic facility.
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| North Korea expells U.N. monitors |
| 25 Sep 2008 |
| North Korea expelled U.N. monitors from the reprocessing plant at its Yongbon nuclear facility, the latest setback in the international community's attempts to convince Pyongyang to discontinue its nuclear weapons program. A spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that North Korea could resume production of weapons-grade plutonium at the facility as soon as next week. North Korea stated last month that it would restart the plant because the United States did not remove the country from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
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