Ministry of Unification: "North Korea refuses to connect call at 12 o'clock liaison office" (2nd report)

North Korea strongly condemned the distribution of leaflets to the North by defector organizations and the South Korean government's response, while protest marches by young students took place in various regions, according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on the 9th.

The Ministry of Unification announced on the 9th, "We attempted to connect a call to the North through the inter-Korean joint liaison office communication line at 12:00, but the North did not answer."

On the same day, North Korea condemned the South Korean government's response to the leaflet distribution and declared that from noon on the 9th, all communication lines between the North and South, including the Blue House hotline, would be completely cut off and discarded.

North Korea's state-run media, Korean Central News Agency, reported in the morning under the title "Regarding the measure to completely cut off all communication lines between the North and South," that "from 12:00 on June 9, the communication lines between the North and South authorities maintained through the inter-Korean joint liaison office, the East-West Sea communication lines between the North and South military, the inter-Korean communication test line, and the direct communication line between the Workers' Party Central Committee headquarters and the Blue House will be completely cut off and discarded."

Accordingly, the government plans to monitor North Korea's movements closely and prepare countermeasures.

On the same day, a Ministry of Unification official told reporters, "Inter-Korean communication lines are a basic means for communication and should be maintained according to inter-Korean agreements," adding, "The government will comply with inter-Korean agreements and continue efforts for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula."

Regarding North Korea's statement that it will convert its inter-Korean projects into 'anti-South projects,' the Ministry of Unification said, "North Korea called it a 'gradual anti-South project plan,' and we will respond while observing the situation after 12:00 today."

The official also stated that they do not know the basis for North Korea setting the cutoff time for the communication channels at noon on the same day.