Unification Ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam speaks during a press meeting in Central Government Complex, Seoul, Dec. 8. Yonhap

North Korea has been operating some 30 South Korean-owned facilities at a now-shuttered inter-Korean joint industrial park in the North without authorization, Seoul's unification ministry said Friday.

The government also said North Korea has been removing debris from an inter-Korean liaison office that Pyongyang blew up in 2020. The office was located in the Gaesong Industrial Complex in the namesake border city.

The ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs called on North Korea to "immediately" stop the acts that violate the property rights of South Korean owners.

"Despite our repeated urging and warnings, North Korea has continued to infringe on our property rights by using South Korean firms' equipment at the industrial complex without authorization and proceeding with the (debris) demolition work on the liaison office," Koo Byoung-sam, spokesperson at the ministry, told a press briefing.

The official said North Korea's illegal acts also constitute a clear violation of inter-Korean agreements, warning of possible legal actions against Pyongyang.

In May, the government said North Korea appears to be operating some 10 South Korean-owned factories at the Gaesong complex without permission.

South Korea shut down the industrial complex, once a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation, in February 2016 in response to the North's nuclear and long-range missile tests.

In 2020, North Korea blew up the joint liaison office in anger over Seoul's failure to stop North Korean defectors from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.

The ministry did not make an assessment of North Korea's intent for removing the debris, which had been mostly left intact for three years after the destruction. But it could be related to North Korea's move to expand its unauthorized use of the industrial complex.

In June, the ministry filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Central District Court seeking compensation from North Korea over the 44.7 billion won ($34.2 million) in damages incurred on the South Korean-built joint liaison office.

The government earlier said it could take legal actions against North Korea's illegal use of facilities at the Gaesong complex and its demolition of South Korean-built facilities at the Mount Geumgang resort. (Yonhap)