KCNA/via Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly ordered that a long-closed border hotline with South Korea be reopened. Officials in Seoul confirmed the news, which was announced Wednesday by a North Korean official in a televised statement. The apparent thaw in relations—after a year of heightened tensions and nuclear threats—comes after South Korea on Tuesday proposed high-level talks with Pyongyang to discuss cooperation for next month’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. The South Korean Unification Ministry, which monitors North Korea’s state-run media, said the communication channel is expected to be restored Wednesday. The ministry cited a North Korean official who said Pyongyang would engage with the South in a “sincere and careful” manner by “upholding the will of the supreme leader.”