SOUTH KOREA and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) yesterday agreed to hold separate military talks after a high-level dialogue in the truce village of Panmunjom located in the demilitarized zone between the two countries.

The DPRK reopened a military hotline with South Korea across the western border yesterday.

A South Korean Government official, who declined to be identified, told reporters that the DPRK informed South Korea during the morning session of the talks of the restoration of the cross-border military hotline, allowing for direct dialogue between the two Koreas.

South Korea’s military checked the communications channel in the western region, confirming the restored hotline at about 2 p.m. local time.

The military authorities between the two Koreas are currently capable of communicating with each other through the reopened channel, the official said.

Beginning today, South Korea will normally operate the inter-Korean military channel, which had been severed since South Korea unilaterally closed down the inter-Korean industrial zone in the DPRK’s border town of Kaesong in February in 2016.

The shutdown came in response to Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear detonation in the previous month.

The inter-Korean military hotline on the eastern border had yet to be reopened as it was damaged in a 2011 fire.

The intergovernmental hotline between the two Koreas was restored last week in the liaison office of Panmunjom, where delegations from South Korea and the DPRK held yesterday the first senior-level dialogue in about two years.

Another working-level contact between the two sides started at 6:25 p.m. local time at the Peace House, a South Korean building in Panmunjom, to arrange a joint communique for the inter-Korean talks.

Yesterday’s inter-Korean talks kicked off at 10 a.m. local time and lasted for about an hour. It was followed by talks between chief negotiators from the two sides that continued for 50 minutes.

The DPRK delegation said the country will send a high-ranking delegation, athletes and a cheering squad to the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in South Korea beginning Feb. 9.

China is pleased about the high-level talks held between the two Koreas, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said yesterday.

“We’ve said many times that as a close neighbor to the Korean Peninsula, China welcomes and supports the DPRK and ROK in their positive moves to smooth relations,” Lu said at a regular news briefing.

Lu said China hopes the high-level talks will give the two Koreas a good beginning in improving relations, pushing forward reconciliation and cooperation, and easing tensions on the Peninsula.

“China also hopes the international community will give both sides encouragement, sufficient understanding and support,” Lu said.

(Xinhua)