North Korea ignores calls from South after vowing to cut off inter Korean communication lines

North Korea on Tuesday did not answer routine daily phone calls from South Korea via liaison and military hotlines on Tuesday after vowing to cut off all inter Korean communication lines in over anti-Pyongyang leaflets.

Earlier in the day, North Korea state media announced the decision to sever communication with South Korea.

The North refused to answer a series of phone calls the South made Tuesday morning via liaison and military communication lines, Yonhap News Agency reported citing officials at unification and defence ministries said.

The agency reported that 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.

The agency said South Korea 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.

"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."

On Monday too, North Korea did not answer first of the twice-a-day liaison phone calls from South Korea, sparking fear in Seoul that Pyongyang might be carrying out its threat to abolish a joint liaison office.

Last Thursday, Kim Yo-jong, North Korea leader Kim Jong-un's sister issued a statement threatening to close the liaison office unless Seoul stops defector groups from sending leaflets into the North.

North Korean defectors and anti-Pyongyang activists have occasionally sent balloons carrying leaflets sharply criticising the communist regime and its leader.

The balloons are often flown with one-dollar bills and USB memory sticks to get more North Koreans to pick up the leaflets.

( With inputs from ANI )