( 4 th LD ) N . K . refuses to answer calls from S . Korea at noon after vowing to sever all phone lines ( ATTN : CHANGES headline ; UPDATES in paras 4 - 5 with new attempt to call ) By Koh Byung - joon and Yi Wonju SEOUL , June 9 ( Yonhap ) -- North Korea did not answer daily phone calls from South Korea via liaison and military hotlines on Tuesday after vowing to cut off all inter - Korean communication lines in anger over anti - Pyongyang leaflets sent from the South . The decision to sever all phone lines at noon Tuesday was the latest in a series of angry protests the communist nation has made since last week while blasting Seoul for failing to stop North Korean defectors from sending propaganda leaflets criticizing Pyongyang ' s leadership . Hours after announcing the decision , the North refused to answer a series of phone calls the South made Tuesday morning via liaison and military communication lines , officials at the unification and defense ministries said . The South tried unsuccessfully to call the North again at noon . " The inter - Korean joint liaison office attempted to call North Korea at noon , but the North did not answer , " the unification ministry said . It was unclear if the North has already cut off the phone lines . In the latest attempt , there was a ringing tone , but the North didn ' t answer , ministry officials said . South Korea urged the North to maintain the communication lines . " Communication lines between the South and the North are a basic means of communication and should be maintained in accordance with inter - Korean agreements , " a unification ministry official said . " While abiding by inter - Korean agreements , the government will make efforts for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula . " Defense ministry spokesperson Choi Hyun - soo said it was the first time that the North has not answered military phone calls from the South since the hotlines were restored in 2018 . The North has denounced leaflet - sending as a hostile act breaching peace agreements the two sides signed during a series of summits in 2018 , including a military tension reduction agreement that calls for a halt to all hostile acts along the border . While announcing Tuesday ' s decision , the North said it will deal with 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 . " North Korean defectors and anti - Pyongyang activists in South Korea have occasionally sent balloons carrying leaflets sharply criticizing the communist regime and its leader , despite repeated calls for a halt to the campaign . The balloons are often launched with US $ 1 bills and USB memory sticks to get more North Koreans to pick up the leaflets . 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 )