As leaders seek to rebuild relations, South Korea and North Korea have reinstated Hotwire.

Author Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters)-The Blue House, the presidential palace of South Korea, said on Tuesday that South Korea and North Korea had resumed the interrupted hotline as part of their efforts to rebuild tensions between the leaders of the two countries.

Moon Jae-in’s press secretary Park Soo-hyun said that since April, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have exchanged letters several times and agreed to reconnect the hotline.

North Korea’s official media KCNA also stated that according to the agreement reached between Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un, all communication channels between North and South Korea have resumed operations at 10 am (0100 GMT) on Tuesday morning.

In a statement, Park Geun-hye said: “The leaders of the two countries have repeatedly trusted each other, discussed ways to restore relations, and agreed to restore the severed hotline as the first step in this process.” “They also agreed to regain trust as soon as possible. , And once again promote the relationship to make progress.”

KCNA stated that the opening of the hotline is “​​a big step in restoring mutual trust and promoting reconciliation.”

North Korea cut off the hotline in June 2020 because after the failure of the second summit between Kim Jong Un and former US President Donald Trump in February 2019, cross-border relations deteriorated and Moon Jae-in proposed mediation.

Moon Jae-in called for the resumption of the hotline and talks, and hoped that US President Joe Biden would resume negotiations aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

The announcement comes as the two countries mark the 68th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War in 1950-53. According to KCNA reports, Kim Jong-un paid tribute to the fallen soldiers and presented gifts to the surviving veterans.