For the third day in a row, North Korea did not respond to calls from its southern neighbor’s hotline, amid rising tensions between the two countries. According to a report by Bloomberg Agency.

South Korean Defense Ministry officials said they contacted North Korea through a military hotline at 9 a.m. local time on Sunday, but the call went unanswered.

Daily communication

Usually, both parties call the hotline twice a day to maintain the required level of coordination and communication between the two parties.

Seoul’s stop responding to calls has drawn condemnation from the West, following Pyongyang’s latest weapons tests, amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Direct answer

Experts believe North Korean experiences are a direct response to joint exercises between the US and South Korea.

The condemnations came after Pyongyang announced it had conducted a new test of an “unmanned” nuclear submarine in the latest response to US-South Korean maneuvers.

Nuclear submarine testing

North Korea announced the first test of the submarine on March 23, saying it was capable of launching a nuclear attack that could “cause a large-scale radioactive tsunami” through an underwater explosion.

Pyongyang stepped up defense cooperation and held its largest joint military drills in five years from March 13 to 23, 2023, after a year that saw a high number of weapons tests and growing nuclear threats from Seoul and Washington.

South Korean US maneuvers

According to the South Korean military, Seoul and Washington conducted joint air drills on April 5.

North Korea views the drills as a rehearsal for an invasion of its territory, and has repeatedly warned of “crushing” measures in response.

Read more