Seoul on Friday said it would hold off on providing approval for a visit by 179 South Korean businesspeople to the now-shuttered Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), citing “various conditions” that would make a trip inappropriate at this time.

The South Korean Ministry of Unification (MOU) said it plans to notify the businesspeople – all of whom previously owned and operated businesses in the KIC – on Friday afternoon that Seoul will “put off approval until… conditions are met,” deputy spokesperson Lee Eugene told a press briefing.

The businesspeople, who have for almost three years been asking to visit their lost