The last seven South Korean workers returned home on Friday (May 3) from the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) in North Korea, which will be temporally suspended as South Korea completes its pull-out.

On Monday (April 29), North Korea held back seven South Korean workers at the suspended, jointly run, factory zone north of the heavily armed border, citing last-minute checks on taxes and wages.

About an hour before their return, South Korea sent two vehicles loaded with cash intended for payments to the North.

Earlier in the day, the government said the return was planned at 17:30 local (08:30 GMT) but it was delayed by around an hour and a half.

North Korea decided to withdraw its 53,000 workers from the Kaesong industrial zone amid heightened tensions between the two Koreas in April, and sent most South Korean workers from the zone, virtually stopping all operations.

South Korea has offered 300 billion won (£176 million) in special loans to companies affected by Pyongyang's decision last month to close the jointly run industrial zone in North Korea, a government official said on Thursday (May 2).

Presented by Adam Justice