AKIPRESS.COM - South Korean workers on Thursday began shutting down a jointly run industrial park in North Korea, a move that will end, at least temporarily, the Koreas' last major cooperation project as punishment over Pyongyang's recent rocket launch.

It was unclear how long the shutdown at the industrial complex in the border city of Kaesong would last, or even how long it would take South Korean companies to close down. Pyongyang has yet to comment, but Seoul said that North Korean workers did not report to work at Kaesong on Thursday, reports The Associated Press.

Along the South Korean side of the border, a stream of large white trucks lined up Thursday morning before crossing into North Korea, presumably to bring back products and gear from the factories. Soldiers stood guard near customs offices and military vehicles escorted cars and vans to the South Korean side.

The shutdown is one of Seoul's strongest available punitive measures, but it is unclear how seriously the impoverished North would be hurt. Seoul said it wants to stop Pyongyang from using hard currency from the park to develop its nuclear and missile programs.

The closing is meant to punish North Korea for its Sunday launch of a rocket that the world sees as a banned test of ballistic missile technology.

South Korea's government and companies invested more than 1 trillion won ($852 million) to pave roads and erect buildings in the park zone, which lies in a guarded, gated complex on the outskirts of Kaesong, North Korea's third-largest city.