North Korea is illegally operating around 10 ROK factories at the inter-Korean industrial complex that shut down in 2016, Seoul’s unification ministry said Tuesday.

The unification ministry’s announcement came in response to a media report about an uptick in activity at the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC). It also follows the ministry’s repeated warnings against Pyongyang’s use of ROK assets at the border complex since early April, including a threat of legal action.

“The ROK government, considering many contexts and situations, including satellite imagery, understands that around ten factories are being operated [by North Korea]” at the industrial complex,