Koreas restore communication links, vow to improve relations

North and South Korea have restored their communication links after a year of them being dormant, vowing to improve their relationship, The Associated Press reported on Tuesday.

South Korean officials confirmed that liaison officials from each country had phone conservations with one another through a military hotline and have agreed to speak on a regular basis. 

Since April, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in started to send letters to one another in a discussion of continuing their communication links, according to the AP. 

Both of the leaders’ offices issued statements saying that Moon and Kim agreed to restore mutual trust and confidence in one another and to develop their relationship between the communication lines. 

President Biden recently called on Kim to resume negotiating talks between the two countries, but North Korean officials in June have dismissed those claims, the AP reported. 

Korea University professor Nam Sung-wook told the newswire the restoration in communication talks between the two countries won’t lead to much improvement in the near future, adding that North Korea needs to meet the Biden administration to begin talks.

“North Korea can also build up an [international image] that it’s willing to continue dialogue” with the outside world, Nam told the AP. 

The resumption of talks comes on the 68th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the Korean War, the AP noted.