[이데일리 송주오 기자] North Korea did not respond to regular phone calls over military communication lines for three consecutive days. As for the cause of North Korea’s non-response, the intelligence authorities are trying to figure it out.
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According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 9th, North Korea did not answer both the call to open and close the military communication line at 9:00 am and 4:00 pm, respectively. It has been consistent with no response for the third day following the last 7 and 8 days.
The two Koreas regularly conduct open calls at 9:00 a.m. and close calls at 5:00 p.m. every day through the channel of the joint liaison office. The military authorities also conduct phone calls with the North through military communication lines at 9:00 am and 4:00 pm.
In the case of the inter-Korean joint liaison office in charge of the Ministry of Unification, calls are not conducted on weekends, but the military communication line is operated even on weekends, but North Korea has not responded for three days.
The reason why North Korea did not respond to military communication lines was not confirmed. The military is leaving open both the possibility of an intentional refusal to respond along with technical anomalies. Regarding the North’s failure to respond, government authorities are considering various possibilities, such as resistance to the ROK-US joint exercises, deployment of US strategic assets, open publication of reports on North Korean human rights, demands to stop unauthorized use of South Korean facilities in the Kaesong Industrial Complex, or technical problems with communication lines between the North and the North. It is known that it is being analyzed.
Technical problems with communication lines have also occurred frequently. In June of last year, a regular call to the liaison office was not made at one time, and it was presumed that it was due to technical problems such as communication line failure due to heavy rain in the North. On October 4 of the same year, the opening call was not made, but the closing call was normally made.