The top South Korean official charged with handling North-South relations says the time has come for South Korean workers still at the shuttered Kaesong factory zone to return home.
Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae said Friday that the government has made an "unavoidable decision" to bring about 180 South Korean workers home.
The decision came hours after North Korea rejected the South's proposal for formal negotiations to restart operations at the Kaesong complex.
Seoul gave Pyongyang 24 hours on Thursday to agree to talks, warning of a tough response if Pyongyang did not agree to the offer.
Hours after the deadline passed Friday, Pyongyang dismissed the offer and warned that it would be the first to take tough action if the South insists on worsening the situation at the border town.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye met with her security-related Cabinet ministers on Friday, regarding fate of the Kaesong complex.