Communications have been daily for years, but a “unilateral” decision can disrupt channels. Exercises involving the United States or an unprecedented report may cause interference
North Korea has now been in total isolation for four days, failing to respond to routine calls from South Korea. The Seoul government says Pyongyang does not normally respond to communication attempts made through a channel created for the purpose.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry says the “unilateral” decision has cut off all communications since Thursday, suspending the tradition of daily calls between the two countries at 09:00 and 17:00, including weekends.
“While monitoring the situation, the government is looking at how to respond. [à decisão da Coreia do Norte]. It won’t take long for us to take an official position,” South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Goo Pyeong-sam was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying that this is the first time since October 2021 that all communication channels have been cut.
Unpublished report
South Korean officials are unclear on the reasons for Pyongyang’s lack of response, but it is believed to be a form of protest against military exercises conducted by South Korea and the United States. Another hypothesis is that North Korean calm is a reflection of South Korea’s support United Nations resolution (UN) condemned human rights abuses in northern neighbours.
After five years on the sidelines of this condemnation, Seoul again signed a document, which has been updated annually since 2003, criticizing Pyongyang.
In parallel, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification released itself 450 page report In it he criticized the country’s position in the last five years. Return a Act of 2016 It offered to release one such document every year, but then-South Korean Prime Minister Moon Jae-in decided never to make it public, citing the security of evidence from across the border.
“The purpose of this Act is to contribute to the protection and promotion of the human rights of North Koreans by pursuing the right to liberty and the right to life as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights conventions.” It is stated in the first article of the said Act.
The same document says North Korea denies basic rights such as freedom of expression, assembly or movement. In addition to using people for medical experiments, Pyongyang also underscores its lack of respect for human life by conducting public executions of both minors and adults.
At the beginning of the report, South Korea itself asserted that the release was “significant because it is the first report issued by North Koreans under the Human Rights Act,” which the Seoul government guarantees is “proof.” A commitment to make efforts to significantly improve the human rights of North Koreans”.
In a document aimed at Iran, Belarus and Syria, the UN “adopted a resolution deciding to continue to strengthen the capacity of the High Commissioner to allow for the implementation of the following appropriate recommendations for a period of two years. Report”.
Military hypothesis
The other hypothesis, military retaliation, is bolstered by drills conducted by South Korea and the United States in Jeju waters, leading North Korea to alert Washington and its “puppet state.” It was prepared to use nuclear weapons and stop “frantic and reckless acts of war”.
Maneuvers, including anti-submarine operations and search and rescue by a US aircraft carrier, took place off South Korea’s southwest coast.
In addition to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, two North American destroyers (USS Wayne E. Meyer and USS Decatur), three South Koreans (ROKS Yulgok YiYi, ROKS Choe Yeong and ROKS Daejoyeong) and one Japanese (JS Umigiri).
The exercises were organized to “improve the response capabilities of the Republic of Korea [nome oficial do Sul]The United States and Japan against undersea threats, including North Korea’s increasingly advanced submarine-launched missiles [SLBM]”, according to a statement from the South Korean Defense Ministry.
The maneuvers come shortly after Pyongyang announced two tests of a nuclear-powered drone that it said would create radioactive tsunamis to target navies and ports.
Established in an attempt to prevent an escalation of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, communication channels were cut by North Korea between 2020 and 2021, after South Korean activists sent leaflets critical of North Korean President Kim Jong-un via balloons.