SEOUL : Nearly one year ago, train services started to cross the border that has divided the two Koreas for more than 50 years.

That service came to a halt on Friday following North Korea's announcement it will stop border crossings from December.

It was a historic time for South and North Korea in December 2007 as trains started to cross the heavily-guarded border separating the two sides for the first time since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

Since then, cargo trains have travelled from Dorasan Station in the South to North Korea, carrying goods back and forth in a sign of reconciliation.

But not anymore as Pyongyang has put a halt to border crossings from December. South Korean tourists will also no longer be able to visit North Korea's industrial city of Kaesong.

North Korea is stepping up pressure on the South as a reaction President Lee Myung Bak's tougher stance on Pyongyang.

"North Korea is currently using the Kaesong complex as a hostage to put pressure on the South Korean government. And it's likely that this pressure will increase. There is always the possibility that it will take more actions regarding Kaesong," said Professor Yang Moon Soo at University of North Korean Studies.

Some analysts believe North Korea may go as far as kicking out South Korean companies operating in Kaesong.

There are currently about 35,000 North Koreans working for the 88 South Korean firms there. They earn about US$70 a month.

North Korea could also be looking elsewhere for economic projects, in particular, factories on the border with China.

"At a time when North Korea is announcing halts to South and North Korea relations, it also said that its leader Kim Jong Il is visiting Shinuiju. It could be indicating that it will tackle its difficulties through economic projects with China, rather than with South Korea," said Professor Kim Yong Hyun of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University.

The border train crossings and tours to North Korea's Kumgang Mountain and Kaesong Industrial city are all projects reached between the two Koreas during the summits in 2000 and 2007. - CNA /ls