The unification ministry on Wednesday expressed "strong regret" over North Korea's plan to send its troops to two inter-Korean business zones near the border disarmed under previous inter-Korean agreements, urging Pyongyang to refrain from escalating tension.

"We express our strong regret over an announcement by a spokesperson of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army to turn the Mount Kumgang tourist area and the Kaesong industrial complex region into military zones," Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho said in a press briefing.

"Today's announcement by the North is an act that turns back the time before the June 15, 2000 Joint Declaration and represents a clear violation of our people's property rights," he added, referring to the first-ever summit agreement. "The North should be held accountable for this, and we urge it to stop worsening situations further."

Earlier in the day, the KPA's General Staff announced its plan to redeploy its troops to border areas of Kaesong and Mount Kumgang, where the two Koreas used to jointly operate business and tourism projects that served as symbols of inter-Korean reconciliation.

The move is the latest in a series of the North's retaliatory steps against the South over the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the communist state, including threatening military action.

This came a day after the North demolished a liaison office in Kaesong opened under a summit agreement in 2018 to foster cross-border exchange and cooperation. (Yonhap)