Seoul: North and South Korea signaled a melting surprise in the relationship on Tuesday, announcing the recovery of cross-border communication which was interrupted more than a year ago and revealed that their leaders had exchanged a series of letters.
North unilaterally cut off all the official military and political communication links in June last year after the threat of activists who sent anti-pyongyang flyers across the border.
The suspension came with the inter-Korean bond with traffic jams, although there were three peaks between Kim Jong UN North and President Moon Jae-in in 2018.
But both parties said all communication lines were restored on Tuesday.
“According to the agreement made between the top, north and South leaders took steps to operate all the inter-Korean communication linking lines starting at 10:00 on July 27,” the official news agency KKNA North Korea.
Kim and Moon have exchanged private papers since April aimed at increasing the bond, the South Korean presidential office said in a statement, and agreed to restore the hotline as the first step.
“Both leaders also agreed to restore reciprocal beliefs between the two Koreas as soon as possible and move forward with that relationship again.” The Dovish Moon was credited with medium to the first summit between North Korea and a US president sat in Singapore in June 2018.
But Pyongyang mostly cut into contact with Seoul after the collapse of the second summit between Kim and then US President Donald Trump Hanoi who left nuclear talks with traffic jams.
Since President Joe Biden served, Pyongyang and Washington had adopted a waiting attitude and saw the relationship after a diplomatic roller coaster under Trump which produced three peaks but there was no agreement on the demolition of North Nuclear Arsenal.
Kim said in June that Pyongyang needs to prepare “dialogue and confrontation” with Washington – but with special emphasis on the last.
The White House promises “practical and calibrated approaches” – including diplomatic efforts – in recent reviews about the strategy to persuade North North Korea to release nuclear weapons and missile programs.
Sung Kim, the US main diplomat responsible for North Korea’s negotiations, said in June that Washington was ready to meet with Pyongyang “anywhere, anytime, without prerequisite”.
But Kim Yo Jong – Sister Kim Jong Un and the main advisor – rejected the offer.
Analysts said the recovery of Tuesday from the inter-Korean hotline indicated Kim’s initial response to the offer of Washington talks.
“It seems like he has decided that restoring inter-Korean relations is beneficial to the policies and politics of domestic and foreign northern,” Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean study, told AFP.
Although jammed in talks, the moon has stopped emphasizing the importance of restoring inter-Korean bonds, he added.
“This must be read as the first response to Kim Jong UN for Seoul and Washington,” said Yang.