SEOUL - The Repulic of Korea(ROK)'s unification ministry on Wednesday expressed regrets over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's refusal of ROK businessmen's request to visit the Kaesong industrial zone.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said it doesn't agree to the application of the?ROK businessmen's visit to Kaesong," the ministry said in a formal statement on Wednesday.

Ten ROK businessmen have applied to visit the Kaesong industrial zone to check the conditions of their factories and bring medicine and food to the workers at the industry complex.

The DPRK banned the entry of?ROK workers to the Kaesong industrial park from April 3, allowing only their departure from the border town.

The industrial zone, established under an agreement reached at an unprecedented inter-Korean summit in 2000, stopped operations from April 9 as around 53,000 DPRK workers failed to report to work following the DPRK's announcement of withdrawal of all its workers from the place.