Fire reported at inter-Korean industrial complex

April 21 (UPI) -- A fire broke out on Thursday at a North Korean industrial complex, which was previously a jointly run inter-Korean facility and where South Korean factories and properties are still present, officials confirmed.

The fire broke out at a factory in the Kaesong Industrial Complex around 2 p.m. KST, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry, which oversees relations with North Korea.

Smoke could be seen from the border between the two countries, the ministry said in a statement.

The flames were extinguished about an hour after they were first reported.

This is the second fire at an inter-Korean facility in two weeks, NK News reported.

"The government will make efforts to figure out how much damage the fire caused to the plant and nearby facilities, and share the situation with companies that have plants in the Kaesong industrial zone," the ministry said in a statement to The Korea Times.

South Korea pulled out of the Kaesong complex in 2016 in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile tests, ending more than a decade of cooperation in the joint venture.

Opened in 2004, the complex was originally built to provide South Korea with a source of cheap labor and North Korea with a source of hard currency.

In 2020, North Korea detonated explosives, blowing up a nearby joint liaison office with South Korea. It also threatened to destroy the entire industrial complex at the time.