North Korea said it would sever communications with South Korea, attributing the move to the South’s failure to stop activists from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.
The North’s Korean Central News Agency said all communication would be cut off at noon on Tuesday in the “the first step of the determination to completely shut down all contact means with South Korea and get rid of unnecessary things,” according to the Associated Press.
“The South Korean authorities connived at the hostile acts against [North Korea] by the riff-raff while trying to dodge heavy responsibility with nasty excuses,” KCNA said.
The South Korean government said the North did not respond to multiple messages after the announcement.
It’s not the first time North Korea has cut off communications with the South, later restoring them when tensions decreased.
For years, South Korean activists have released large balloons into North Korea with leaflets critical of Kim Jong Un’s human rights record and nuclear ambitions. With a few exceptions, South Korea hasn’t typically interfered in the activity.
