北, 정오부터 대남 소통채널 모두 폐기... 통일부 "남북 통신선 유지돼야"

North Korea is severing all official communication links with South Korea.
As of noon today, there are no known working lines between the two.
Our Oh Jung-hee is live at Seoul Unification Ministry which is in charge of North Korean affairs.
Jung-hee, was there an official announcement by the North that it's cutting off all communication and what's the response from South Korea?
Conn-young, it all started with a report from Pyeongyang's Korean Central News Agency early this morning.
It said that the North would shut down the inter-Korean hotlines at the joint liaison office, between the militaries and the one it has with Seoul's presidential office, as of noon today.
It blamed what it called South Korea's anti-regime activities, a reference to the propaganda materials civilians send over the border on balloons.
The North said this is only the "first stage" of the steps it's going to take to end contact with the South... and that it will treat the South as an "enemy."
At 9AM and at noon, Seoul tried calling Pyeongyang using hotlines at the joint liaison office and between the militaries, but the North did not respond.
South Korean officials did not attempt to make their usual call to the North at 5PM.
The government says that the inter-Korean hotlines will have to be maintained in accordance with inter-Korean agreements as they're the basic tools for communication.
Regarding the North calling Seoul an "enemy," South Korea made no comment.
Since last week Pyeongyang has been issuing a series of vitriolic denunciations of Seoul over activists sending anti-North Korea leaflets over the border something activists and defectors do on a regular basis.
That's correct.
Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, issued a statement last Thursday blaming South Korean authorities for failing to stop defectors from sending anti-Pyeongyang propaganda leaflets across the border.
She warned that Pyeongyang could demolish the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, close down the joint liaison office, and scrap the inter-Korean military agreement.
The North's United Front Department that's in charge of inter-Korean relations also released a statement the next day... saying that the regime's been thinking of some "decisive actions" to cut off contact with the South.
Seoul's Unification Ministry said that it will prepare legislation to ban the flying of propaganda leaflets.
But despite that, the North is warning that cutting the hotlines is only the "first stage" of its actions, which means there could be additional moves that could raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Conn-young.