Neighbors restore inter-Korean hotlines

SEOUL－The Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea restored their cross-border hotlines on Monday, a step that Seoul said could help improve relations after Pyongyang sparked global concern with a string of missile tests in recent weeks.

The two sides resumed communication with officials making their first phone call since August, days after the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting over Pyongyang's recent missile tests.

The ROK's Unification Ministry confirmed the phone call on Monday morning.

"It's been a while and I'm very happy that the communication line has been restored," said a ROK official to his DPRK counterpart in footage provided to reporters by the ministry.

The ROK's Defence Ministry also confirmed that cross-border military communication has resumed.

"With the restoration of the communication line, the government evaluates that a foundation for recovering inter-Korean relations has been provided," said the Unification Ministry in a statement.

"The government hopes ... to swiftly resume dialogue and begin practical discussions for recovering inter-Korean relations."

Earlier on Monday, the DPRK's official news agency KCNA reported that its top leader Kim Jong-un had "expressed intention of restoring the cutoff communication lines".

It reported that the move was an attempt to establish "lasting peace" on the Korean Peninsula.

Inter-Korean communication lines, which had been severed for over a year, were briefly resumed on July 27.

The joint announcement, which coincided with the anniversary of the end of the Korean War (1950-53), was the first positive development since a series of summits in 2018 between Kim and ROK President Moon Jae-in failed to achieve any significant breakthrough.

It was also revealed at the time that Kim and Moon had exchanged a series of letters since April in which they agreed that reestablishing hotlines would be a productive first step in rebooting relations between the two neighbors which, despite the end of the conflict, remain technically at war.

But Pyongyang refused Seoul's regular calls again two weeks later due to the joint military drills by the ROK and the United States.

In the time since then, Pyongyang has held a series of missile tests. On Friday, it said it had successfully fired a new type of antiaircraft missiles.

Despite its recent launches, Pyongyang maintains a 2018 self-imposed moratorium on a long-range missile directly threatening the US, a sign that it still wants to keep chances alive for future diplomacy with the US, reported The Associated Press.

Agencies - Xinhua