N. Korea to cut off all inter-Korean communication lines at noon – Yonhap

Yonhap have reported that North Korea will cut off all inter-Korean communication lines at noon on Tuesday, state media reported, days after Pyongyang strongly protested anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent from South Korea.

The move will be the first in a series of actions that the North will take as it believes there is no need for face-to-face talks or issues to discuss between the two Koreas, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

Market implications

For several days, North Korea has been lashing out at South Korea, threatening to close an inter-Korean liaison office and other projects if the South does not stop defectors from sending leaflets and other material into the North.

On Monday morning, North Korea did not answer a routine daily liaison phone call from South Korean officials for the first time in since 2018, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said.

There has not been any attention to the matter in wider financial markets.