North Korea not responding to calls from South Korea for fourth consecutive day

North Korea has not responded to the regularly-held inter-Korean calls for the fourth consecutive day, elevating tensions on the peninsula and raising concerns about the stability of the region.

Report informs via foreign media that officials in North Korea were unresponsive to the regular phone communication between the two sides, Yonhap News reported, after calls through the military line went unanswered on the previous two days.

The two Koreas typically hold phone calls twice a day through the two lines, including a cross-border liaison channel, during the week, while the military channel is used on weekends.

South Korea defense ministry officials said they reached out to the North through the military hotline at 9 a.m. Sunday but the calls went unanswered, according to Yonhap.

The suspension of communication comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula following North Korea’s recent weapons tests, which were seen as a response to joint military drills between South Korea and the US.

Daily phone call disruptions, however, have not always resulted in elevated tensions. In June 2022, North Korean did not respond to a regular hotline call, apparently due to technical glitches caused by heavy rains.