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 resumed operation at 10 a.m. Tuesday (0100 GMT) 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.
Moon has called for a revival of the hotline and talks,
pinning high hopes on U.S. President Joe Biden to restart negotiations aimed at
dismantling North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes.
The announcement came as the two Koreas marked the 68th anniversary
of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. Kim paid tribute to fallen
soldiers and sent gifts to surviving veterans, according to KCNA.
Reuters
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