North Korea said it will cut off all inter-Korean communication lines at noon on Tuesday, after it strongly protested anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent over the border by North Korean defectors in South Korea.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) said on Tuesday that Pyongyang will completely shut down the liaison line between the two countries’ authorities maintained through the joint liaison office at noon Tuesday along with other communication links.

The report said this also includes the East and West Seas communication lines between the militaries, an inter-Korean "trial communication line" and a hotline between the Central Committee of the North's Workers' Party and South Korea's presidential office. 

The KCNA said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, who oversees South Korea-related affairs, and another top official, Kim Yong-chol, issued the order in a meeting on Monday. It added that the two officials have stressed that they will now treat the South as an enemy.

The report said the move will be the first in a series of actions that the North will take as it believes there is no need for face-to-face talks or issues to discuss between the two Koreas.