North Korea has recently removed rocket launchers from the shuttered Kaesong complex, fueling speculation about its motives, local sources said Sunday.

South Korea's military said that Pyongyang relocated more than 30 forward deployed multiple launch rocket systems from the industrial park, located just north of the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas.

The relocation took place late last year after being deployed soon after the North declared the area was a military control zone.

Seoul closed the complex down in February 2016 after the reclusive country tested its fourth nuclear device and fired off a long range missile, despite stern warnings from the international community.

"We are currently in the process of determining why the North pulled out the rocket launchers," said a South Korean source, who declined to be identified. He said that the move seems to be a tactical military decision.

The Kaesong complex, served as the last symbol of inter-Korean cooperation but at the same time it is one of the "main corridors" that North Korean troops can use if they opt to invade the South.

It lies a little over 50 kilometers northeast of Seoul.

South Korea's military said that before construction of the complex began in late 2003, the North had stationed two divisions and a artillery brigade around Kaesong city and the nearby town of Panmun.

The artillery unit, in particular, had 170 mm long-range guns and the 240 mm MLRS, which has the range to hit South Korea's capital.

Others like Kim Dong-yeob, a professor at Kyungnam University's North Korean studies school, speculated that Pyongyang may have initially placed the MLRS in Kaesong as a show of force to spike up tensions.

"Since the region is an open area, it is not really suitable for weapons (because they can be attacked easily)," the expert said. "They were probably sent somewhere else to make them less vulnerable."

Kim then said that while some may say Pyongyang may be hoping that the complex will be reopened, this does not seem to be the real motive. (Yonhap)