The two Korean nations restored, on Monday, their hotlines, which North Korea severed months ago, amid international optimism about the potential “peaceful” future with Pyongyang.
North Korea cut off the hotline with its neighbor in early August, just days after reopening them for the first time in a year, in protest against joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises.
Pyongyang’s official KCNA news agency had said the telephone links would be reconnected on Monday at 9:00 a.m, calling for Seoul to fulfill its “tasks” to mend strained cross-border ties.
South Korea confirmed that twice-daily regular communication was restarted on time via military hotlines and others run by the Unification Ministry, except for the navy channel set up on an international network for merchant ships.
The hotlines are a rare tool to bridge the two Koreas, but it is unclear whether their re-connection would facilitate any meaningful return to talks aimed at dismantling the North’s nuclear and missile programs in return for U.S. sanctions relief.
Seoul’s defense ministry said the hotlines have contributed to preventing unexpected clashes and their reopening would hopefully lead to substantive easing of military tension, reported Reuters.
The Unification Ministry, responsible for inter-Korean affairs, expressed hopes that it would be able to resume dialogue soon on ways to recover relations and foster peace.
In Washington, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said the U.S strongly supports inter-Korean cooperation, calling the re-connected lines “an important component in creating a more stable environment on the Korean Peninsula,” according to Reuters.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his willingness last week to reactivate the hotlines to help realize people’s hopes for a thaw and peace.
In the same speech, Kim urged Seoul to abandon its “double standards” and “delusion” over the Pyongyang’s self-defensive military activities while developing its own weapons.
“The South Korean authorities should make positive efforts to put the north-south ties on a right track and settle the important tasks which must be prioritized to open up the bright prospect in the future,” KCNA said.
Tension had flared since the hotlines were increased, with North Korea warning of a security crisis and firing a series of new missiles, including a hypersonic missile, an anti-aircraft missile, and a “strategic” cruise missile with potential nuclear capabilities.
The missiles’ launches underlined how Pyongyang has been constantly developing sophisticated weapons and raising the stakes for stalled denuclearization negotiations.
While accusing Washington of “hostile policy,” Pyongyang has said it is willing to mend inter-Korean relations and consider another summit if Seoul drops “double standards policy.”
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.