SEOUL North Korea announced on Monday it would clamp down on cross-border movements and suspend a historic railway service from December 1 in protest at what it called South Korea`s policy of confrontation.

The communist state said it would `selectively expel` South Koreans based at two joint projects in the North, the Kaesong industrial estate and the Mount Kumgang tourist resort.

Military authorities would `strictly restrict` border crossings by South Koreans headed for the two projects, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

A popular tour by Southerners to the North`s city of Kaesong would also be suspended, the agency said, announcing what it called `the first step to cope with the prevailing grave situation in relations.`

The North on November 12 had announced plans `to strictly restrict and cut off` border passages from December 1. Monday`s announcement was the first indication of what it planned.

The restrictions could cripple operations at Kaesong, where more than 32,000 North Koreans work for 83 South Korean-owned factories along with about 1,500 South Koreans.

The project earns the impoverished North tens of millions of dollars a year.

Announcing detailed plans, the North blasted comments by South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak during his US trip. Lee reportedly said his ultimate aim is reunification of the peninsula under a liberal democratic system.

Pyongyang has already closed its Red Cross mission and direct phone links at the truce village of Panmunjom.

`More strict order and discipline will be enforced as regards the passage and entry into the Kaesong Industrial Zone and Mount Kumgang tourist area and stringent sanctions applied against any violators of them,` the North`s statement said.

`The prospect of the inter-Korean relations will entirely depend on the attitude of the South Korean authorities,` it quoted the military delegation chief as saying.

Despite the November 12 announcement, it said, `the South Korean puppets are still hell-bent on the treacherous and anti-reunification confrontational racket.`

Mount Kumgang on the east coast is already effectively shut down after North Korean soldiers in July shot dead a South Korean woman tourist who strayed into a restricted zone.

The South suspended tours there on safety grounds after the North refused its demand for a joint investigation into the tragedy.