Anchor: North Korea, which lambasted defector-led anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns in the South, went ahead with cutting off all lines of cross-border communication, including the hotline with the South's presidential office. Pyongyang said it will begin to consider Seoul an enemy.
Choi You Sun has the details.

Report: In the early hours of Tuesday, North Korea's state-run media said Pyongyang would sever all channels with Seoul from noon, including the hotline between the South's presidential office and its ruling Workers' Party.

The other lines the Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) mentioned would be disconnected are the liaison office in Gaeseong, military hotlines, and a line used to test operations of the liaison and military channels.

The news agency said the decision was made upon orders from regime leader Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong, the deputy director of the party's central committee, and Kim Yong-chol, the committee vice chairman.

The two officials reportedly stressed that all inter-Korean initiatives will shift focus as the South is now viewed as an enemy, though the transition will be carried out in phases.

Earlier this month, Kim Yo-jong slammed defector-led anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns in the South, threatening to withdraw from the joint Gaeseong Industrial Complex and the liaison office, or abandoning a 2018 deal to diffuse cross-border tensions.

Hours after the North's latest announcement, Pyongyang ignored calls from Seoul via the liaison office and military hotlines.

South Korea's Unification Ministry stressed that the cross-border channels should be maintained as a means of basic communication in accordance with inter-Korean agreements.

The ministry planned to seek the appropriate steps after attempting another connection through the liaison office later in the day.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.