The South Korean Unification Ministry said on Tuesday that inter-Korean communication channels should be kept open after Pyongyang threatened to sever them.  

In a meeting with reporters, a senior official of the ministry called the communication lines basic means for bilateral communication and pointed to inter-Korean agreements that stipulate their maintenance. 

The official said the South Korean government will continue to observe and implement inter-Korean agreements reached between the countries’ leaders, including the 2018 Panmunjeom Declaration, and make efforts for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula. 

Earlier in the day, Pyongyang threatened to cut all inter-Korean communication lines at noon that day and ignored daily calls via the liaison office and military channels in the morning. 

The threat came days after the North blamed Seoul for not stopping anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns in the border areas.