For a year, North Korea has no longer answered phone calls from its southern neighbor

2024-04-07T11:11:07.260Z

Highlights: For a year to the day, the telephone line connecting South Korea and North Korea has been cut. Since April 7, the North Korean regime has no longer responded to calls from its southern neighbor. A rupture which is not about to end with the rise in tensions on the peninsula. In January, North Korea decided to now qualify its neighbor as an enemy. For this reason, experts on the subject do not envisage a return of communications soon.. In 2021, after a year of interruption, the line was finally restored.

For a year to the day, the telephone line connecting South Korea and North Korea has been cut. Since April 7, the North Korean regime has no longer responded to calls from its…

For a year, North Korea has no longer answered phone calls from its southern neighbor

For a year to the day, the telephone line connecting South Korea and North Korea has been cut. Since April 7, the North Korean regime has no longer responded to calls from its neighbor to the South. A rupture which is not about to end with the rise in tensions on the peninsula.

North Korean soldiers in the demilitarized zone (DMZ), north of the border (illustrative image). © commons.wikimedia.org

By: RFI Follow

With our correspondent in Seoul,

Célio Fioretti

The phone rings, but no one picks up. For a year to the day, this has been the daily life of the inter-Korean liaison office which was previously responsible for maintaining contact between the two Koreas. Since April 7, if the lines are not cut, the

North Korean

authorities have refused to respond to the two daily calls from their colleagues in the

South

These telephone lines, 48 in number, installed gradually since 1971, allow the two countries to communicate. A way to more simply resolve possible border problems to avoid escalation or to communicate on the new policies in application.

Rising tensions

If communication has already been broken many times during moments of tension between the two countries, the line has always been reestablished sooner or later. In 2021, after a year of interruption, the line was finally restored.

However, no one knows when this outage will end. Over the past year, tension has risen on the Korean peninsula. In January, North Korea decided to now qualify its neighbor as an

enemy

. For this reason, experts on the subject do not envisage a return of communications soon.

Read alsoNorth Korea: Pyongyang claims to have tested an intermediate-range hypersonic missile

For a year, North Korea has no longer answered phone calls from its southern neighbor

For a year, North Korea has no longer answered phone calls from its southern neighbor

Rising tensions

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