Bloomberg reported that North Korea has not been responding to calls from its southern rival via the hotline since last Friday, amid fears of a slide in tension between the two countries, in light of the deadlock in front of a diplomatic settlement.
Officials of the isolated communist country did not respond to military communications coming from the South Korean side on Sunday, according to Yonhap.
Usually, both sides run; South Korean and North Korean contact via the hotline, twice a day, in a step in order to maintain the required limit of coordination and communication between the two parties.
South Korean Defense Ministry officials said they contacted North Korea via the military hotline at 9 am local time on Sunday, but the call did not receive any response.
The cessation of answering calls comes amid increasing tension on the Korean peninsula, following recent weapons tests by Pyongyang, which were condemned by the West.
Experts considered the North Korean experiences a direct response to joint exercises between the armies of the United States and South Korea.
Earlier, North Korea’s official KCNA news agency reported that “the DPRK’s National Defense Science Research Institute conducted a test of a strategic underwater weapon system between April 4 and 7.”
It added that the Hale-2 nuclear-powered submarine conducted an underwater simulation, during which it covered a distance of 1,000 km.