North Korea cuts communication link with ‘puppet traitor’ South amid US drills
- Seoul said on Monday that the North could have ‘unilaterally cut-off’ a communications link between the two Koreas
- It comes after North Korea slammed the US and its ‘puppet state’ allies Japan and South Korea for their ‘war maniacs’ reckless moves’
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said on Monday that North Korea failed to respond for a fourth straight day to regularly held calls on an inter-Korean liaison communications channel. The calls are normally held on weekdays at 9am and 5pm.
“We’re weighing the possibility of a unilateral cut-off” by Pyongyang, spokesman Koo Byoung-sam told reporters at a news briefing. He added this is the first time since October 2021 that all inter-Korean military lines or liaison calls have been stopped for more than a day.
The two Koreas, which are technically still at war, don’t have regular phone service. They set up hotlines in 2018 after a series of summits aimed at decreasing tensions on their heavily armed border. But North Korea has previously shut the communications links in displays of anger.
“I believe it is a part of its political-diplomatic response, a way of expressing its strong disgruntlement against the US and South Korea’s joint exercises,” said Go Myong-hyun, a senior fellow of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
“It’s unlikely a step toward escalation, but more of a tit-for-tat response against the joint military drills and much more elevated deterrence posture from South Korea and the US,” Go said.
The US, Japan and South Korea this month held joint anti-submarine drills in waters off the South Korean island of Jeju. North Korea responded by warning that the US and its “puppet state” allies were bringing grave danger to themselves and saying its nuclear arsenal was ready to be used at any time to deter the “war maniacs’ reckless moves.”
North Korea says US military drills driving region to ‘brink of nuclear war’
In June 2022, North Korea did not respond to a regular hotline call, apparently due to technical glitches caused by heavy rains.