North Korea Announces "Complete Severance and Disposal of All Inter-Korean Communication Lines," Suggests Additional Actions (Comprehensive)

Including All Communication Lines Such as the Blue House Direct Line
"Daring to Touch the Supreme Dignity... Will Pay the Price"
"This Is the First Step" Suggests Additional Measures

President Moon Jae-in (right) and Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea

North Korea announced that it will completely cut off and dismantle all communication lines connecting the North and South from noon on the 9th.

The North Korean state media, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported, "From 12:00 on June 9, 2020, the communication lines between the North and South authorities maintained through the Inter-Korean Liaison Office, the East-West Sea communication lines between the North and South military, the North-South communication test lines, and the direct communication line between the Workers' Party Central Committee headquarters and the Blue House will be completely cut off and dismantled."

The report stated that Kim Yo-jong, First Deputy Director of the Party, and Kim Yong-chol, Vice Chairman of the Party Central Committee, issued these instructions at the South Korea-related department’s business summary meeting on the 8th.

The report said the two emphasized "the need to thoroughly convert South Korea-related work into anti-enemy work and reviewed phased anti-enemy work plans to accurately calculate the price to be paid by traitors and trash," adding, "First, they issued instructions to completely cut off all communication lines between the North and South."

The report criticized the South Korean government’s response to anti-North leaflets, claiming, "The South Korean authorities have shirked their grave responsibilities under shabby slogans, tacitly condoning the anti-Republic hostile acts of trash, driving inter-Korean relations to a catastrophic end."

It continued, "Under the South Korean authorities’ irresponsible actions and tacit approval, the vile trash carried out anti-Republic hostile acts, dared to attack the supreme dignity, mocked the sacred spiritual core of our entire people, and ultimately antagonized all our people."

The report emphasized, "There can be no forgiveness or opportunity in that matter, of all matters. They must be made to pay the price," and stressed, "We cannot exchange the supreme dignity for anything and will defend it with our lives."

KCNA stated, "We have reached the conclusion that there is no longer any reason to sit down or discuss with the South Korean authorities," describing the (cutting off and dismantling of communication lines) as "the first step in completely closing off all contact spaces with the South Koreans and eliminating unnecessary things," suggesting further measures in the future.

Earlier, through statements by First Deputy Director Kim and a spokesperson for the United Front Department, North Korea criticized the distribution of anti-North leaflets and the South Korean authorities’ response, expressing a willingness to sever inter-Korean relations.

North Korea’s brinkmanship is interpreted as pressure to extract maximum benefits and concessions from the South, which has recently been focusing all efforts on inter-Korean cooperation projects.

Additionally, amid ongoing sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic, which have brought the North Korean economy to its worst state, this propaganda is seen as strongly aimed at diverting accumulated public dissatisfaction outward. The KCNA report was also published in Rodong Sinmun, the Workers' Party’s official newspaper, which is accessible to all North Korean residents.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.