Inter-Korean Liaison Office and Military Communication Line Down... Heightened Alert over Technical Issues and North Korea's Backlash

Amid worsening tensions on the Korean Peninsula, there was no communication via the inter-Korean liaison office and military communication lines on the 7th.

According to the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of National Defense on the 7th, the regular calls through the inter-Korean joint liaison office and the West and East Sea military communication lines were not conducted normally as the North did not respond.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Unification stated, "Following the liaison office's opening call at 9 a.m. today, the closing call at 5 p.m. was also not made." The West and East Sea military communication lines also failed to connect for both the 9 a.m. opening call and the afternoon call.

Earlier, the Ministry of Unification said in the morning, "Our side's section of the communication line was inspected and found to have no abnormalities, so we will monitor the situation including the possibility of issues on the North's section of the communication line."

North and South Korea regularly conduct opening calls at 9 a.m. and closing calls at 5 p.m. daily through the joint liaison office channel. Military authorities have also been communicating with the North at the same times.

Regarding this, government authorities are reportedly analyzing various possibilities, including North Korea's opposition to the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises and technical problems on the North's section of the communication lines.

This is not the first time that contact with the North has failed. In June last year, regular calls through the liaison office were temporarily not made, presumed to be due to technical issues such as communication line disruptions caused by heavy rain in the North. On October 4 of the same year, the opening call was not made, but the closing call was conducted normally. In June 2020, North Korea cut off communication lines including the inter-Korean liaison office channel, citing the distribution of leaflets against the North, but restored them in July the following year.