South, North Korea restore once-severed Hotline

On Jul 28, 2021

SOUTH KOREA: South and North Korea have restored their once-severed hotlines as part of efforts by the two countries’ leaders to rebuild strained ties, Seoul’s presidential Blue House said on Tuesday.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged multiple letters since April and agreed to reconnect the hotlines, said Moon’s press secretary, Park Soo-hyun.

North Korea’s state media outlet, KCNA, also said all inter-Korean communication channels were resumed operation at 10 a.m. (Korean time) on Tuesday in line with an agreement between Moon and Kim.

“The two leaders have explored ways to recover relations by exchanging letters on several occasions, and agreed to restore severed hotlines as a first step for that process,” Park said in a statement. “They have also agreed to regain trust as soon as possible and foster progress on relations again.”

KCNA touted the reopening of the hotlines as “a big stride in recovering the mutual trust and promoting reconciliation.”

North Korea cut the hotlines in June 2020 as cross-border ties soured after a failed second summit in February 2019 between Kim and former U.S. President Donald Trump, which Moon had offered to mediate. – NDTV