Emergency service personnel wearing chemical protective clothing participate in an anti-chemical warfare exercise on Tuesday, April 16 in Seoul. Tensions remain high in the Korean Peninsula in the wake of North Korea's recent nuclear threats and provocations. A Pentagon intelligence assessment suggests the North may have the ability to deliver a nuclear weapon with a ballistic missile, though the reliability is believed to be "low."
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- Joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States officially ended Tuesday, the South Korean Defense Ministry said.
But the ministry noted that South Korea is still closely monitoring for possible provocation and possible missile launches by North Korea.
A torrent of unnerving threats from Pyongyang in recent weeks has strained already fragile relations in the region.
The North's rhetoric intensified when the U.N. Security Council voted last month to slap the tougher sanctions on the regime and amid the U.S.-South Korean military drills.
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The tensions prompted the closure of Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea -- one of the few symbols of inter-Korean cooperation.
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The complex, which sits just north of the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two countries, houses the operations of more than 120 South Korean companies.
During a frenzy of rhetoric aimed at South Korea and the United States earlier this month, the North began blocking South Koreans from entering the complex across the heavily fortified border.
It then pulled out the more than 50,000 North Koreans who work in the zone's factories, saying it was temporarily suspending activity there. The move surprised some observers since Kaesong was considered to be a key source of hard currency for the Kim Jong Un regime.
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Seven remain
On Saturday, South Korea started withdrawing its remaining citizens from the manufacturing zone jointly operated with the North.
On Tuesday, the South's Unification Ministry said seven South Koreans remain at Kaesong to tie up loose ends.
This is not the first time Kaesong has shut down.
In 2009, North Korea temporarily suspended in Kaesong Industrial Complex several times, not permitting South Koreans to enter and exit the zone. The suspension also took place during the annual U.S.-South Korean joint military drill.
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But if all South Korean workers pull out, it will be the first time the joint economic zone will have no South Korean workers since the business kicked off about a decade ago.
In 2012, the production value of the complex grew to $500 million; just five years earlier, it topped $100 million for the first time.
The average wage for North Korean workers in Kaesong Industrial Complex is $134 per month, according to the South Korean Unification Ministry. North Korean authorities take about 45% of their wages for various tax reasons.
South Korea pulls out citizens from joint industrial zone
CNN's Jethro Mullen contributed to this report.
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South Korean marines arrive on the island of Yeonpyeong near the disputed waters of the Yellow Sea on Friday, April 12.
A Japanese soldier is on alert as Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile launchers are deployed at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday, April 10.
South Korean soldiers sit in a truck at the Inter-Korean transit office on Tuesday, April 9, in Paju, South Korea.
South Korean soldiers participate in an artillery drill as part of the Foal Eagle joint military exercise by U.S. and South Korean forces near the Demilitarized Zone in Goseong on April 9.
U.S. soldiers are at a military training field in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on April 9.
South Korean soldiers with K-55 self-propelled Howitzers stage at a military training field in the border city of Paju on Friday, April 5, as tensions continue to mount on the Korean peninsula.
South Korean soldiers man a cannon at a military training field in Paju on April 5.
South Korean soldiers stand guard at a sentry post at the border with North Korea in the Demilitarized Zone near Imjingak, South Korea, on April 5.
A U.S. Army Patriot missile battery is visible at the U.S. Osan Air Base in South Korea on Friday, April 5.
The U.S. Navy is moving a sea-based radar platform, like the one seen in this 2006 file photo, closer to the North Korean coast to monitor that country's military moves, including possible new missile launches, a Defense Department official said Monday, April 1.
South Korean marines man K-55 self-propelled Howitzers at a military training field in the border city of Paju on Monday, April 1. Park Geun-hye, South Korea's new president, promised a strong military response to any North Korean provocation after North Korea announced that the two countries were in a state of war.
South Korean anti-aircraft armored vehicles move across a temporary bridge during a river crossing drill in Hwacheon near the North Korean border on Monday, April 1.
South Korean soldiers ride on a military truck in Paju on Friday, March 29.
The United States said Thursday, March 28, that it flew stealth bombers over South Korea to participate in annual military exercises amid spiking tensions with North Korea. Pictured, a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber flies over South Korea's western port city of Pyeongtaek.
South Korean soldiers gather at the foot of a mountain near a military drill field in the border city of Paju on Wednesday, March 27.
Armed South Korean soldiers walk on a road near a military drill field in Paju on March 27.
South Korean soldiers ride in a military truck in Paju on March 27.
A B-52 bomber flies over the wire-topped fence of a U.S. air base in Osan, South Korea, on Tuesday, March 19.
South Korean soldiers take part in a drill to guard the building of a state-run telecom company in Seoul against potential guerrilla attacks on Thursday, March 14.
South Korean army soldiers jump off a military truck during a drill outside a U.S. airbase in Pyeongtaek as part of annual joint exercises with the United States on March 14.
South Korean Marines operate K-55 self-propelled howitzers on the western island of Ganghwa near the disputed maritime frontier with North Korea on Wednesday, March 13.
South Korean soldiers stand guard as a North Korean soldier, far center, looks on at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas on March 13.
South Korean marines patrol on the South Korea-controlled island of Yeonpyeong near the disputed waters of the Yellow Sea on Tuesday, March 12.
In this Navy handout image taken on March 5, Lt. j.g. Matthew Harmon serves as helm safety officer aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell during a replenishment at sea, part of Foal Eagle 2013, the joint exercises between the United States and South Korea.
Fire Controlman 2nd Class Jason Titcombe, left, hands Fire Controlman 2nd Class Joshua Clements ordnance aboard the destroyer USS Lassen in this Navy handout photo taken on March 5.
U.S. Navy Boatswain's Mate 3rd Class Brittany Chiles signals to an SH-60B Seahawk helicopter as it lands on the flight deck of the destroyer USS McCampbell on March 4 in the Pacific Ocean, in this Navy handout photo.
This March 17 Navy handout image shows the destroyer USS John S. McCain, front; the Republic of Korea Navy destroyer ROKS Seoae-Yu-Seong-Ryong, center; and the destroyer USS McCampbell moving into formation in the waters off the Korean Peninsula during exercise Foal Eagle 2013.
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