On Feb. 10, 2016, Seoul shut down the factory park in response to North Korea's nuclear test and long-range rocket launch early last year, putting an end to the symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation.

"The closure of the complex was decided through the normal process (of the government's decision-making) after consultation among relevant ministries and a meeting of the standing committee of the National Security Council," Lee Duk-haeng, ministry spokesman, told a regular press briefing.

The factory zone had housed a total of 124 South Korean firms hiring more than 54,000 North Korean workers to produce labor-intensive goods, such as clothes and utensils.

The government said that money generated from the complex is suspected of being funneled into North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

The factory zone, opened in 2004, has served as a major revenue source for the cash-strapped North, while South Korea has benefited from cheap but skilled North Korean labor. The South Korean firms annually provided about $100 million in total to North Korean workers for wages.

Earlier in the day, Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo visited the headquarters of a local electronics parts manufacturer which ran factories at the Kaesong complex in a bid to appreciate its self-rescue effort to normalize business operations.

"The government will continue to make efforts to support the firms at the zone in a principle-based manner," Hong said.

The shutdown is believed to have caused 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in losses, according to a group of the firms, adding that the government's financial support measures are not sufficient.

North Korea has condemned Seoul's unification ministry for severely straining inter-Korean ties. It claimed Monday that the ministry should be disbanded.

"The Ministry of Unification completely shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex and has blocked civilian inter-Korean exchanges. The ministry will never be forgiven," said the Rodong Sinmun, the main organ of North Korea's ruling party. (Yonhap)