North-South Korea Restore Military Hot-Line as Tensions Ease
By Sam Kim - Sep 6, 2013
North and South Korea restored their military hot-line in another sign of improving ties, bolstering efforts to reopen their jointly run industrial park shuttered in April at the height of tensions between the nations.
Officials from the two countries spoke today on the hot-line for the first time since March, when the North threatened war against South Korea and the U.S., the South’s Unification Ministry said in a text message. Previously, the line was used to communicate lists of South Korean nationals traveling daily to Gaeseong complex across the heavily armed border.
“The two governments are now talking on an official communications line,” Oh Gyeong Seob, a researcher at the Sejong Institute south of Seoul, said by phone. “This is a positive signal for the resumption of operations at Gaeseong.”
The restoration brightens prospects for the outcome of talks between the two countries scheduled for Sept. 10 at Gaeseong, where they will try to set a date for reopening the factory park. The site was seen as a symbol of reconciliation between the countries until the North pulled out its 53,000 workers in April in protest of South Korean media portrayals of the site as a needed source of hard currency for the Kim Jong Un regime.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-06/north-and-south-korea-restore-military-hotline-as-tensions-ease.html
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