BACK AT THE TABLE

North and South Korea Working to Reopen Joint Liaison Office

The two countries are working to reopen the cooperation center that North Korea demolished last year.

There is fresh hope for peace between North and South Korea after the two nations reopened talks with an eye to open the joint liaison office at the truce village of Panmunjom that was demolished by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last year, Reuters reports. In a symbolic move, the two countries—which are still officially at war—re-established hotlines that Kim cut last June. If relative peace is established between the neighboring countries, it could then help reopen talks with Washington regarding sanctions and the North’s nuclear and missile programs. There has been a stalemate between the U.S. and North Korea since the disastrous talks with former President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019 ended with Trump walking out.