N. Korea informed ICAO of plan to cut air traffic control communication with S. Korea

North Korea has informed the U.N. aviation agency of a plan to sever its air traffic control communication channel with South Korea, according to Seoul’s unification ministry Wednesday.

Pyongyang last year notified the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that it would stop operating the channel starting in 2025, but South Korea repeatedly expressed the need to maintain the direct line, according to the ministry.

“By cooperating with the ICAO, the government has continued to convey the stance that the direct line needs to be maintained and it is currently operating normally,” the ministry said.

Under a 1997 agreement, South and North Korea established the direct line between air traffic control centers in the South’s Daegu and the North’s Pyongyang to facilitate air traffic between the Koreas.

The communication channel has not been used due to the absence of inter-Korean air traffic, but regular calls take place at 7 a.m. every day to check line connectivity, according to a ministry official.

It remains unclear if Pyongyang still seeks to shut down the communication line.

The move comes as North Korea has remained unresponsive to daily routine calls with South Korea through inter-Korean liaison and military channels since April 2023 amid increasingly strained cross-border relations.