North Korea, Communication Channels Disconnected for 3rd Day

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] North Korea has not responded to regular calls through the inter-Korean joint liaison office and military communication lines for three consecutive days.

On the 12th, the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of National Defense stated, "The opening call of the inter-Korean joint liaison office at 9 a.m. today did not take place, and the military communication lines in the East and West Sea areas are the same."

After North Korea abruptly restored inter-Korean communication lines on the 27th of last month for the first time in 13 months, it regularly communicated with the South through the inter-Korean joint liaison office and military communication lines for two weeks. However, since the afternoon of the 10th, when the Crisis Management Staff Training (CMST), a preliminary exercise for the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, began, North Korea has not responded to the South's attempts at regular calls.

Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party, and Kim Yong-chol, Head of the Party's United Front Department, issued statements on the 10th and the previous day, respectively, warning of an "security crisis" in protest against the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises.

However, it is reported that no signs of provocation from North Korea have been detected at present.

An official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, "Under close cooperation between South Korea and U.S. intelligence authorities, we are closely monitoring related trends and maintaining a firm readiness posture," adding, "There are no unusual developments to explain further at this time."

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