Ministry of Unification: "No Communication Established for the Start of Inter-Korean Liaison Office Operations"

Ministry of Unification Investigating Cause... "West Sea Military Communication Line Operating Normally"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The Ministry of Unification announced on the 4th that the opening call for the inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office was not made.

At a meeting with reporters that day, a Ministry of Unification official stated, "Regarding the regular calls between the inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office, the opening call scheduled for 9 a.m. this morning was not made," adding, "There was also no call between the inter-Korean machine rooms."

Regarding the cause of the missed call, the official explained, "We are currently verifying whether it was due to technical issues such as a communication line malfunction." Communication line technical problems have occurred frequently. When the regular call was missed last June, the cause was presumed to be a communication line failure due to heavy rain.

This time as well, there may have been technical issues caused by heavy rain near the Panmunjom area. The official added that the West Sea military communication line operated normally with the opening call made in the morning.

However, concerning the possibility that North Korea deliberately cut off communication, the official said, "Since the cause has not been accurately identified, it is important at this point to focus on efforts to restore normal connection of the inter-Korean communication lines, and I can say that such efforts are currently underway."

North and South Korea usually conduct regular calls through the Joint Liaison Office channel, with an opening call at 9 a.m. and a closing call at 5 p.m. every day.

North Korea cut off communication lines, including the inter-Korean liaison office channel, in June 2020 citing the distribution of leaflets against the North. The lines were restored in July last year, cut off again once, and then restored again on October 4 of last year.