Why is North Korea not responding to inter
2024-05-29 01:45:24
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| A South Korean government worker makes a call to North Korea via a military hotline in this July 27, 2021 file photo. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense |
Communication line shutdown could be prelude to additional provocations
By Nam Hyun-woo
North Korea has not responded to scheduled inter-Korean calls via a military hotline for the third day in a row, Sunday, in what seems to be a form of protest against Seoul's recent military drills and criticism of human rights in the North.
Experts said the shutdown of communication lines could be a build-up to Pyongyang staging additional provocations, given the previous pattern the regime has shown. But it remains uncertain what means the North may resort to.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, the North did not answer two hotline calls scheduled for Sunday morning and the afternoon, extending its silence for the third day.
The two Koreas are supposed to hold calls twice a day ― 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. ― via military hotlines set up across the border. The North has stopped answering calls from the military communication lines since Friday.
The North also did not respond to Seoul's calls via an inter-Korean liaison hotline on Friday. The liaison office hotline does not operate during weekends.
In the past, North Korea did not respond to routine calls several times due to technical issues. This time, however, it is speculated that the North is snubbing the calls on purpose because both military and liaison communication lines became unresponsive simultaneously.
Due to this, the North's apparent refusal to respond to the calls is seen as a form of protest against Seoul's joint military exercises with the U.S. and Japan and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's criticism of human rights conditions in the North.
On Sunday, Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean propaganda outlet, reported that recent South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises are "a risky militaristic gamble having no odds of winning," mentioning the Ssangyong (double dragon) landing exercise and a joint air drill involving a U.S. B-52H bomber. The report also criticized a trilateral anti-North Korea submarine drill between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington.
Seoul's recent criticism of human rights conditions in North Korea is also considered a reason for Pyongyang's silence.
On March 31, the South Korean government revealed the "2023 Report on North Korean Human Rights" and described that North Koreans are not guaranteed their civil, political, economic and cultural rights.
South Korea has been producing the report each year since 2017 under its North Korean Human Rights Act, but this was the first time that it was revealed to the public.
Upon publishing the report, Yoon said in multiple meetings with his aides, "It is very important to inform the public about the grim reality of human rights in North Korea" and added that Seoul should "make efforts for the practical implementation of the North Korean Human Rights Act."
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| This photo provided by the North Korean government shows the demolition of an inter-Korean liaison office building in Kaesong, North Korea, June 16, 2020. AP-Yonhap |
Against this backdrop, North Korea's failure to respond through the military hotline is being interpreted as a preparatory step towards further provocations.
On June 9, 2020, the North cut all communication lines with the South after denouncing South Korean activists for sending anti-North leaflets across the border. In response, it blew up a joint liaison office in the North's Kaesong just seven days later.
"In 2020, the North was quite clear about the reasons it was angry and Kim Yo-jong (North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister) elaborated on the context," said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University.
"But this time, the North has yet to clarify what made the regime cut the hotlines, although we can assume that it was due to the recent joint military exercise between South Korea and the U.S. and the repeated references to the North Korean human rights issue."
Park said the previous pattern hints at how the North may stage a new provocation, but it will not likely be a nuclear test, because it is one of the ultimate options that the regime may choose under the current security dynamics.
A day earlier, the North claimed that it tested the Haeil-2, a new type of underwater drone "capable of carrying a nuclear warhead." On March 28, the North released photos of the Hwasan-31 nuclear warheads, claiming that they can be mounted on submersible vehicles.
（作者：汽车音响）
