The working contact aimed to comprehensively reexamine and renegotiate the institutional preferential measures in the KIZ has faced the situation arousing concern due to the south side's perfidious attitude, the message says, and goes on:

The south side was compelled to respond to the contact on April 21 but it showed such seriously indecent attitude as delaying the contact for more than 10 hours while raising an unreasonable issue in disregard of even an elementary decorum and morality.

The south side promised to inform the north of the date for the next contact soon. However, it has delayed informing the north of the date for more than 20 days while getting hell-bent on a racket of confrontation with the DPRK over an issue outside the agenda despite the fact that the north side urged the south side on several occasions and showed such sincerity and magnanimity as informing it of the number of persons to be involved in the contact and its date and venue, etc. on its own initiative. The south side refused to respond to the contact the north side suggested again to have on May 12, driving the hard-won working contact to the crisis of rupture.

Moreover, the south side did not hesitate to kick up a row over the issue of a man who is now under investigation after being arrested red-handed for conducting a dishonest hostile act against the DPRK as an employee of Hyundai Asan in the KIZ and raise the issue as a precondition for the working contact.

By nature, the north side may revise laws and regulations and norms set by it and notify the south side of them and unilaterally put them into force as the KIZ is under its jurisdiction. But it offered the south side an opportunity of holding renegotiations with the north side, independent of the prevailing situation, taking the present north-south relations and the fate of the south side's businesses into due consideration.

However, the south side responded to our sincere efforts with a confrontational stand at last. This situation compels the north side to reconsider its stand to seek negotiated settlement of the issue as it has already informed the south side.

The north side solemnly notifies the south side of the following measures upon authorization:

First. We declare null and void the rules and contracts on the land rent, land use tax, wages, all sorts of taxes, etc. which we have so far applied to the south side in the KIZ out of special favor, guided by the spirit of the June 15 joint declaration.

Second. We will start going through the procedures for implementing the measures in line with the laws, regulations and norms to be revised as required by the changed situation and reality.

The enterprises and personnel concerned of the south side in the KIZ should unconditionally accept the above-mentioned matters and we do not care about them leaving the KIZ if they have no will to carry them out.

It is none other than the south side's authorities which caused the north side to take such measures.

We can not show favor for an indefinite period to those who seek confrontation with fellow countrymen.

The south side will be held responsible for making the working contact aimed at modifying the contracts on the KIZ abortive and deteriorating the situation.

Whether the situation will reach a more deplorable phase in the future or not entirely depends on the south side's attitude.