North Korea cuts off all communication lines to South Korea

North Korea has severed all communication lines with South Korea as it escalates its pressure on Seoul to stop defectors from sending leaflets across the border.

That's according to state news agency KCNA, which said all lines of communication at an inter-Korean liaison office, and hotlines between the two militaries and presidential offices will be closed.

It's the first in a series of actions, with top North Korean officials describing the South as "the enemy".

Both countries are technically still at war as no peace agreements were reached after the end of the Korean war in 1953.

In fact, the daily calls between their liaison offices were set up since 2018 to reduce tensions and maintain peace in the Korean peninsula. 

The move also marks a major setback in the US-led denuclearisation talks.