PAJU: North Korea has suspended its sole major joint project with the South, a shared industrial park.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the Chernobyl disaster would 'seem like a child's fairy tale' in comparison to any nuclear conflict caused by the crisis.
North Korea's decision to suspend the Kaesong industrial park coincided with speculation it will carry out another nuclear weapons test or missile launch.
Tension has been rising since the UN imposed new sanctions against the North in response to its third test of a nuclear weapon in February. Pyongyang has been further angered by weeks of military exercises by South Korean and US forces and threatened both with nuclear attack.
Mr Putin said: "If something happens then Chernobyl may seem like a child's fairy tale.
Analysts had suggested Pyongyang would continue to allow Kaesong to operate as it accounted for some $2 billion in annual trade, with 50,000 North Koreans working there making household goods for South Korean companies.
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