North Korea says it will open its hotline to South Korea for the first time in almost two years on Wednesday, a major diplomatic breakthrough following a year of escalating hostility that could pave the way for future talks.
The country’s leader Kim Jong Un gave the order to open the line at 3.00 p.m local time (1:30 a.m. ET) to begin discussions on sending a North Korean delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, next month.
It comes just one day after South Korean President Moon Jae-In called for swift measures to smooth North Korea’s participation in the Games. Kim had said in his New Year’s message that discussions should start “as soon as possible” about sending a North Korean sporting delegation.
But while relations appear to be thawing between the two Koreas, the US President Donald Trump indicated just hours before that he was maintaining his hardline stance.
In an astonishing tweet posted late Tuesday, Trump compared the size of his nuclear button to Kim’s. During his New Year’s Day address, the North Korean leader boasted that he had a nuclear button on his desk.
“I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” the US President tweeted.
Rare talks
If the two Koreas talk Wednesday, it’ll be the first time since in almost two years that a special direct hotline in the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone has been used to connect the two countries.
North Korea hasn’t answered since February 2016 when South Korea suspended operations at the joint Kaesong Industrial Complex, a business park that once employed workers from both sides.
“They’ve been trying at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. every single day, just to check if North Korea had opened that communication channel. So it is significant that North Korea has announced this,” said CNN’s Seoul-based correspondent, Paula Hancocks.
Moon’s office welcomed the gesture Wednesday and expressed optimism that the Olympic talks would be extended.
“The restoration of the communication channels means a lot. It is assessed that (we) are headed to setting up a structure through which contacts can be made on a regular basis,” said Presidential press secretary, Yoon Young-chan.
Moon has championed the 2018 Winter Olympics, set to begin February 9, as a possible means of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
In a November interview with CNN, the South Korean leader described the Games as an opportunity for inter-Korean peace and reconciliation, and expressed his hope that the North would participate.
Only two North Korean athletes have qualified for the Games — pairs figure skaters Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-sik. However, the country’s National Olympic Committee did not meet an October 30 deadline to accept their spot.
There has been talk of the International Olympic Committee granting an additional quota, something previously proposed by Choi Moon-soon, governor of the Gangwon province that will host the Winter Games.
South Korea’s Ministry of Unification also expressed hope Wednesday that the Olympic discussions could create the environment for future talks.
“Further procedures regarding inter-Korean government talks proposed yesterday will be discussed through the communications channel,” the statement said.
