The speakers accused the authorities of discussing the ways of tightening "sanctions" against the north together with the U.S.

This is a dangerous action of escalating the tension on the Korean Peninsula, they said, urging the authorities to stop at once the confrontational racket to put pressure upon the north.

On the same day, the Consultative Council of Workers in the Kaesong Industrial Zone (KIZ) staged a demonstration in Seoul in protest against the authorities' act of escalating the north-south confrontation through the shutdown of the KIZ.