North and South Korea enter new spat

North Korea severed all communication lines with South Korea on Tuesday in response to activists sending anti-government leaflets across the border. North Korea’s Central News Agency said the move is the first step in completely shutting down all contact with the South. The affected services include communication through the inter-Korean liaison office and hotlines for their militaries and presidential offices.

What prompted the tough measure? South Korean activists, including North Korean defectors who live in the South, continue to send leaflets attached to huge balloons across the border. The flyers often criticize North Korea’s human rights record and nuclear aspirations. The fragile relationship between the two neighbors already faced pressure over the extended deadlock on a nuclear deal between North Korea and the United States. The South Korean government said it will continue to work toward restoring peace.

Dig deeper: Read Angela Lu Fulton’s report on South Korea’s uneasy relationship with defectors sending the leaflets.