A factory complex that is North Korea’s last major economic link with the South was a virtual ghost town today after Pyongyang suspended its operations and recalled all 53,000 of its workers, cutting off jobs and a source of hard currency in its war of words and provocations against Seoul and Washington.

North Korea suspended its sole remaining major project with the South after weeks of threats against the United States and South Korea, as Russian president Vladimir Putin said any nuclear conflict could make Chernobyl look like a fairy tale.