Some South Korean-owned commuter buses left at the now suspended inter-Korean industrial complex in the North Korean border city of Kaesong were confirmed to have disappeared from their parking places, Voice of America reported Wednesday.

The US broadcaster said its analysis of a satellite photo taken June 16 by Digital Globe Inc., a US imagery and information company, shows at least 15 commuter buses were missing from the complex's parking lot, as 33 buses have been moved but 18 others showed up in previously vacant places.

It marked the first time that buses used to commute North Korean workers are confirmed to have been moved since February 2016, when Seoul shut down the complex in response to the North's nuclear and missile tests, VOA said. 

The move to shut it down was implemented to prevent North Korea from funneling proceeds earned from the industrial complex's operation into its nuclear weapons and missile development.

As many as 290 buses were used to commute North Korean workers from their houses to their workplaces when the industrial complex was in operation, VOA said. Opened in 2004, the factory zone had housed 124 South Korean firms hiring more than 54,000 North Korean workers to produce labor-intensive goods, such as clothes and utensils.

Another photo taken by Digital Globe on May 19 showed two to three buses, which were believed to be commuter buses for the complex's workers, running in the downtown of the North Korean city. (Yonhap)