Park Yong-man says his hopes of ever restarting his clothing factory at the inter-Korean economic complex in Kaesong, North Korea, appear "beyond impossible" with the election of conservative Yoon Suk-yeol as South Korea's president.

The project, which housed some 124 South Korean companies and employed 55,000 North Korean workers, was shuttered in early 2016 following a rocket launch and nuclear test by the North.

Resuming it is among the many efforts at engagement that appear on hold for the foreseeable future amid Pyongyang's increasingly confrontational moves and Yoon's vow to take a harder line on the North.