North Korea has not responded for the third day to daily inter-Korean contacts that were restored two weeks ago. 

The Unification Ministry said Thursday that its regular morning contact via the liaison hotline at 9 a.m. did not go through, while a military official confirmed that morning calls on its western and eastern lines were not answered either.

The two Koreas had kept regular contact via the liaison hotline at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and the military lines at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. every day since the links were reinstated on July 27.

However, the North has remained unresponsive since Tuesday when South Korea and the U.S. kicked off a preliminary joint training ahead of the annual summertime military exercise next week.

The military is said to have detected no signs of provocation from the North at present. 

An official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are closely watching the North and maintaining firm defense readiness.