North Korea appears to be purposefully cutting a communication link with South Korea as it ratchets up tensions by testing new weapons and denouncing its neighbor as a "puppet traitor” for holding military drills with the U.S.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Monday that North Korea failed to respond for a fourth straight day to regularly held calls on an inter-Korean liaison communications channel. The calls are normally held on weekdays at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

"We’re weighing the possibility of a unilateral cut-off” by Pyongyang, spokesman Koo Byoung-sam told reporters at a news briefing. He added this is the first time since October 2021 that all inter-Korean military lines or liaison calls have been stopped for more than a day.