SEOUL – North and South Korea today said they have restored cross-border communications, more than a year after Pyongyang severed all official hotlines between the two nations, which technically remain at war.
The North unilaterally cut off all official military and political communication links with the South in June last year after threats over activists sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets over the border.
The suspension came with inter-Korean ties at a standstill, despite three summits between the North’s Kim Jong-un and the South’s President Moon Jae-in in 2018.
But in a surprise announcement, the two sides said all communication lines were restored this morning.
“According to the agreement made between the top leaders, the North and South took a measure to reoperate all inter-Korean communication liaison lines from 10am on July 27,” reported the North’s official KCNA news agency.
The leaders of the two countries have exchanged personal letters since April aimed at improving ties, said Moon’s office in a statement, and agreed to restore the hotlines as the first step.
“The two leaders also agreed to restore mutual trust between the two Koreas as soon as possible and move forward with the relationship again.”
The dovish Moon is credited with brokering the first-ever summit between North Korea and a sitting United States president in Singapore in June 2018.
But, Pyongyang largely cut off contact with Seoul following the collapse of a second summit between Kim and then US president Donald Trump in Hanoi that left nuclear talks at a standstill. – AFP, July 27, 2021
