A South Korean military officer on Oct. 4 makes a test call to his North Korean counterpart at Seoul's joint liaison office. (Ministry of National Defense)

By Jung Joo-ri and Kim Hayeon

The two Koreas on Oct. 4 reconnected inter-Korean hotlines 55 days after North Korea refused to answer calls in the wake of a statement from Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the North's Workers' Party of Korea, blasting joint military drills between South Korea and the U.S.

The Ministry of Unification on the same day said hotlines between the two Koreas were restored at 9 a.m. following a phone call at the inter-Korean liaison office."

Both sides agreed to make regular calls at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily and communicate via phone if issues arise.

The Ministry of National Defense confirmed that as of 9 a.m. on the same day, military hotlines on the east and west coasts were "fully restored and operational." 

All functions like landline calls and fax transmission for receiving and sending documents between the military authorities of both sides were fully operational, it said, adding that operations were also normal for the exchange of information through the Yellow (West) Sea communication line on illegal fishing in the region to prevent accidental collisions.

On June 9 last year, the hotlines were cut off after the North protested anti-Pyeongyang leaflets sent from the South. After 13 months, the lines were restored on July 27 this year, and the two sides agreed to hold regular calls at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily.

On the afternoon of Aug. 10, Pyeongyang again stopped taking calls after Seoul and Washington held preliminary military drills.  

Since their opening in 1971, inter-Korean hotlines have been suspended and reconnected seven times, including the latest instance.   

Unification ministry spokesperson Lee Jong Joo said the reconnection of the hotlines has laid the foundation for stabilizing the Korean Peninsula and restoring inter-Korean relations.

Through stable operation of such hotlines, she said Seoul looks forward to advancing the resumption of talks as soon as possible to start substantial discussions on restoring inter-Korean ties like implementing bilateral accords and establish peace on the peninsula.

The U.S. also expressed support for the reconnection.

Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price on Oct. 4 told a briefing, "When it comes to the re-establishment of inter-Korean communications, we have said this before, but we support inter-Korean dialogue and engagement as well as cooperation, and we'll continue to work with our ROK (Republic of Korea) partners to that end."

etoilejr@korea.kr