The activation of the hotline, or “red phone,” comes just days after Pyongyang raised international concerns by conducting a series of missile tests within weeks, prompting the UN Security Council to convene an emergency meeting.
On Monday morning, the South Korean Unification Ministry confirmed the phone call between North and South officials.
“With the restoration of the line of communication between the South and the North, the government considers in its assessment that a ground has been provided for the restoration of inter-Korean relations,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that “the government hopes (…) to resume dialogue quickly.”
And the North’s Korean Central News Agency reported early Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “expressed his intention to restart the communications lines cut between the North and the South,” noting that the move was an attempt to establish “permanent peace” on the Korean peninsula.
The two Koreas signaled a sudden improvement in relations in late July by announcing the restoration of cross-border contacts after they were cut off more than a year ago.
But the détente did not last long, as North Korea stopped answering calls after only two weeks.
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