( 2 nd LD ) N . K . refuses to answer calls from S . Korea after vowing to sever all phone lines ( ATTN : RECASTS headline , lead ; ADDS info in para 2 - 5 ) By Koh Byung - joon and Yi Wonju SEOUL , June 9 ( Yonhap ) -- North Korea did not answer South Korea ' s liaison office phone call Tuesday morning after vowing to cut off all inter - Korean communication lines later in the day in anger over Seoul ' s failure to stop defectors from sending anti - Pyongyang leaflets into the communist nation . " The liaison office attempted to call North Korea this morning , but the North did not answer , " the unification ministry said Tuesday . North Korea also did not answer calls via military hotlines , according to the defense ministry . Earlier in the day , the North said it will sever all communication lines with the South at noon Tuesday , accusing Seoul of turning a blind eye to North Korean defectors sending propaganda leaflets criticizing Pyongyang ' s leadership . The North also said it will treat the South as an " enemy . " " The disgusting riff - raff have committed hostile acts against the DPRK by taking advantage of the south Korean authorities ' irresponsible stance and with their connivance . They dared to hurt the dignity of our supreme leadership , " the Korean Central News Agency said . " As far as the issue of the dignity of our supreme leadership is concerned , there can neither be a pardon nor an opportunity . They should be forced to pay dearly for this , " it said . The KCNA also said that the North " reached a conclusion that there is no need to sit face to face with the South Korean authorities and there is no issue to discuss with them , as they have only aroused our dismay . " " Accordingly , the relevant field of our side will completely cut off and shut down " all communications lines with the South at noon on Tuesday , including the hotline between the North ' s ruling Workers ' Party and the South ' s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae , as well as a liaison line and military communication lines , the KCNA said . This photo captured from North Korea ' s Rodong Sinmun on June 6 , 2020 , shows students at Kimchaek University of Technology criticizing North Korean defectors . In a June 4 statement , Kim Yo - jong , the North Korean leader ' s powerful sister and first vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers ' Party of Korea , threatened to scrap a military tension reduction agreement with South Korea and completely shut down other major cross - border exchanges unless Seoul takes action against anti - Pyongyang leaflets sent into the communist nation . ( For Use Only in the Republic of Korea . No Redistribution ) ( Yonhap ) The decisions were made at a meeting attended by Kim Yo - jong , sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong - un , and Kim Yong - chol , vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers ' Party Korea ( WPK ) , the KCNA said . During the meeting , they " stressed that the work towards the South should thoroughly turn into the one against enemy " and discussed " phased plans " for such transition " in order to make the betrayers and riff - raff pay for their crimes . " The KCNA noted that cutting off all communication lines will be " the first step of the determination to completely shut down all contact means with South Korea and get rid of unnecessary things . " The North has been vehemently protesting propaganda leaflets since last week . On Friday , the North ' s United Front Department ( UFD ) handling inter - Korean affairs issued a statement , saying it will abolish the liaison office in the North ' s border town of Kaesong in the first in a series of measures that the sister of leader Kim Jong - un threatened to take unless Seoul stops the sending of such leaflets . The leader ' s sister also warned of dismantling a now - shuttered industrial park in Kaesong and scrapping a military tension reduction agreement signed in 2018 , calling for a halt to all hostilities along the border . North Korea vowed to put those threats into action , even though South Korea promised to take legislative measures to ban such activity . The North derided Seoul ' s envisioned move as " a little more advanced excuses . " The communication lines that the North vowed to completely cut off were established amid a peaceful atmosphere after South Korean President Moon Jae - in and North Korean leader Kim held three summits in 2018 . Inter - Korean relations have remained chilly amid stalemated denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington since their no - deal summit in February last year . North Korea has balked at all of South Korea ' s offers for talks and cooperation . kokobj @ yna . co . kr ( END )