Despite the End of ROK-US Joint Exercises, Inter-Korean Communication Line Remains Silent

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Military Specialist Yang Nak-gyu, Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Although the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises have ended, regular inter-Korean calls are still not being made. The North is unilaterally not responding.

According to the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of National Defense on the 27th, as of 9 a.m. that day, regular calls from the South through the Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office, as well as military communication lines in the East and West Sea areas, are not connected. It has been 18 days since the inter-Korean communication lines were cut off.

North Korea abruptly restored the inter-Korean communication lines on the 27th of last month after 13 months and conducted regular morning and afternoon calls with the South through the liaison office and military communication lines for two weeks. However, since the afternoon of the 10th, when the pre-exercises for the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises began, they have not responded to regular calls again.

Our government does not rule out the possibility that the North will reconnect communications. In fact, during the South Korea-U.S. joint 'Key Resolve' exercise on March 9, 2009, North Korea unilaterally cut off military communication lines and blocked the Gyeongui Line land passage to the Kaesong Industrial Complex, but immediately restored the military communication lines and land passage the day after the exercise ended.

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