Due to on-going tensions between North and South Korea, CEO of GM Dan Akerson said last month that the US-based car manufacturer is considering moving output away from this important production center.

Last week Akerson addressed a meeting with GM Korea’s union leader in Detroit, saying GM is not planning on leaving Korea, but will need to discuss his labor problems with South Korea’s president Park Geun-hye when she visits the US this week.

“We are upset by his remarks. We did not go all the way to the U.S. to hear that,” Choi Jong-hak, Korea’s union leader said.

Choi added that Akerson’s original statements on the possibility of a change in venue for GM’s facilities was an empty threat meant to calm down the union before talks commence on a possible restructuring of production systems.

“GM cannot withdraw from South Korea. We have technology to make good cars and our wages are only about one third of those in the United States and Europe,” Choi remarked.