Updated at 17:55 KST to include further comment from the Ministry of National Defense (MND)

North Korea did not respond to multiple phone calls from the South on Tuesday, Seoul’s Ministry of Unification (MOU) said, following threats from Pyongyang earlier in the day to cut off all inter-Korean communication lines.

In news which comes amid increasingly-uncompromising rhetoric from the North in response to the continued launching of balloons carrying anti-regime leaflets by activists in South, Seoul said attempts to reach Pyongyang had failed.

“The joint liaison office at noon attempted to call the North’s side, but it did not