The two Koreas restore communication channels, agree to improve ties – By The Associated Press (NBC News) / July 27 2021
“Now, the whole Korean nation desires to see the North-South relations recovered from setback and stagnation as early as possible,” the official Korean Central News Agency said.
The leaders of North and South Korea restored suspended communication channels between them and agreed to improve ties, both governments said Tuesday, amid a two-and-a-half year-stalemate in U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at stripping North Korea of its nuclear weapons.
While the move could certainly help ease animosities on the Korean Peninsula, it’s unclear whether Pyongyang would go as far as to revive previous vigorous cooperation programs with Seoul and get back to the nuclear talks with Washington. Some experts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un merely intends to burnish his international image or use South Korea as leverage ahead of a potential resumption of talks with the U.S.
Since April, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in exchanged personal letters several times and decided to normalize the cross-border communication channels as a first step toward improving relations, Moon’s office said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in during the Inter-Korean Summit on April 27, 2018 in Panmunjom, South KoreaInter Korean Press Corp / NurPhoto via Getty Images
The two leaders agreed to “restore mutual confidence and develop their relationships again as soon as possible,” senior Blue House official Park Soo Hyun said in a televised briefing. Park said the two Koreas subsequently reopened communication channels on Tuesday morning.
