(VOVworld) – Pyongyang announced Thursday that it will cut off all military contacts including a communication channel at the truce village of Panmunjom with Seoul after the North asked all South Korean workers to leave the Kaesong Industrial Complex before 5 p.m. on Thursday.

Businessmen waiting at an immigration checkpoint in Paju, South Korea, on Thursday to re-enter the Kaesong joint industrial zone for their belongings. (Photo: Ed Jones/AFP - Getty Images)

Pyongyang also sealed off all assets and equipment of South Korean companies at the complex and ordered a military takeover of the complex. The move took place one day after South Korea shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the last major symbol of reconciliation between the two Koreas.

South Korean troops have been put on alert, especially in the western border to respond to any provocative acts from the North.