<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/government-legal/" rel="tag">Government/Legal</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/south-korea/" rel="tag">South Korea</a></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/south-korean-workers-fleeing-north-korea/"><img alt="Overloaded South Korean's van fleeing North Korea" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/04/fleeing-north-korea-628l.jpg" style="margin-top: 4px; margin-bottom: 4px; width: 628px; height: 398px;" /></a><br /><br />Around 175 South Korean workers have been forced to pack up their belongings and leave a group of jointly operated factories in <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/north korea/">North Korea</a> after tensions continued to escalate between the two countries. The workers piled tools and finished products high onto the roofs of regular passenger cars as they evacuated as quickly as possible.<br /><br />North Korea says the ongoing talks with its southern neighbor geared toward keeping the factory complex operational were "deceptive" given that the US and South Korean armed forces continue to practice joint drills nearby. <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/south korea/">South Korea</a>, meanwhile, was concerned that workers could be deprived of food or medicine if the situation continued to sour.<br /><br />The evacuation has placed the future of factories operated jointly by the two countries into question and marks the most significant casualty of the continued degradation of relations between the neighbors. It is unclear when or if the facilities will reopen.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/28/these-are-the-overloaded-cars-of-south-korean-workers-fleeing-no/">These are the overloaded cars of South Korean workers fleeing North Korea</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:07:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/28/these-are-the-overloaded-cars-of-south-korean-workers-fleeing-no/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/20550878/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/28/these-are-the-overloaded-cars-of-south-korean-workers-fleeing-no/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><div class="feedflare">

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Yikes. But still, smart moving getting the civilians out of there. If Kim does throw a shit fit and engage South Korea in any sort of combat, North Korea would go after those factory workers as hostages.