SEOUL: North Korea said it will cut off communication channels with South Korea.

The isolated country has escalated its pressure on South Korea for failing to control activists from floating anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.

The North’s warning comes as relations between the two Koreas have been strained amid a deadlock in broader nuclear diplomacy between North Korea and the United States.

Observers say the North may be intentionally creating tensions to bolster internal unity. The North’s move has also been speculated as a strategy to launch a bigger provocation amid the US-led sanctions.

According to the North’s Korean Central News Agency, all cross-border communication lines will be cut off today.

(With inputs from Agencies)