TIRED OF FIGHTING?

North Korea Restores Border Hotline With South

Kim Jong Un reportedly ordered channel be reopened to discuss Winter Olympics.

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.”