North Korea Restores Cross-Border Hotline With South Korea to Improve Relations

Communications between the two nations have been cut since August due to the South's military exercises with the US.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meeting South Korean leader Moon Jae-in. Image used for representational purpose.

(Photo: Korea Summit Press Pool via AP, File)

In an attempt to facilitate better communication between the two countries, North Korea and South Korea restarted their communication hotline on Monday, 4 October, the Associated Press reported.

The Ministry of Unification, a department of the South Korean government, said that officials of the two Koreas exchanged messages over a cross-border hotline.

The ministry also said that the re-opening of the hotline was a significant step in the mending of ties between the two Koreas and very crucial for peace in the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea's official news network said that the South "should make positive efforts to put the North-South ties on a right track," the AP report added.

Communications between the two nations have been cut-off since August, after South Korea's participation in joint military exercises with the United States, the BBC reported.

The restoration of the hotline comes after a series of missile tests conducted by North Korea that included hypersonic missiles within striking range of South Korea and Japan.

South Korea too tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile recently, a first of its kind for a non-nuclear country.

North Korea has accused South Korea and the US of "double standards" concerning their military activities in the Korean peninsula.

(With input from Associated Press and BBC)