北, 오늘 12시부터 대남 소통채널 모두 폐기... 통일부 "남북 통신선 유지돼야"

North Korea has just closed down all communication channels with South Korea.
The regime had set a deadline of noon today,... which is now.
It also said it will be considering South Korea as its "enemy" from this day forth.
For more, let's connect to our Oh Jung-hee, who's on the line for us at Seoul's Unification Ministry.
Jung-hee, a serious escalation.
Mark,
Pyeongyang's Korean Central News Agency reported this morning that as of noon Tuesday, that's as you've mentioned right now as we speak, it will shut down the inter-Korean hotlines at the joint liaison office, between the militaries, and the one it has with Seoul's presidential office.
Pyeongyang explained that this is only the first stage of its actions to get rid of "unnecessary" contact points with the South.
It added that the decision has been made by Kim Yong-chol who used to be the North's top nuclear envoy until the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi and Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un's sister.
They stressed that the regime's work towards South Korea will be turned into work towards an "enemy."
The action comes as the North has been blaming Seoul for failing to stop defectors from sending anti-Pyeongyang propaganda leaflets across the border.
Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, and the regime's United Front Department, which is in charge of inter-Korean relations, both issued statements last week... to say that the flying of these leaflets goes against inter-Korean agreements and the South Korean government will be held responsible.
Any response from the South Korean government?
Establishing the joint liaison office and setting up a direct hotline between President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un were some ambitious steps the two Koreas took two years ago.
That is right.
Well this morning, Seoul tried communicating with Pyeongyang using all the hotlines they have including the ones at the joint liaison office and the military ones but the North did not respond.
Seoul's unification ministry emphasized that the hotlines will have to be maintained as they're the basic tools for communication and stressed Seoul will abide by inter-Korean agreements.
The ministry says the North did not send any other document to notify the South of its recent move.
Seoul says it will see how things unfold this afternoon and come up with how it should respond.
Regarding the North's defining of Seoul as an "enemy," the government did not have anything to say.
That's all I have for now, back to you.