UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday welcomed the reopening of a hotline between North and South Korea, hoping for more diplomatic initiatives to end the nuclear crisis on the peninsula.
The two Koreas resumed their direct contact line since 2016 after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un spoke during his New Year address on the possibility of talks with the south and North participation in the Winter Olympics from February 9 to 25, 2018. South Korea.
“It is always a positive development for a dialogue between North and South Korea,” Guterres spokesman Farhan Haq said, expressing Guterich’s welcome to “reopen the inter-Korean communication channel.”
He said UN Security Council resolutions call for nuclear disarmament on the Korean Peninsula and “we hope that enhanced diplomatic initiatives will help achieve this goal.”
The communication channel in the border village of Panmunjom, where the truce was signed at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, was re-activated at 0630 GMT two years after it was closed.
The initiative came in a climate of heightened tension after North Korea launched a number of ballistic missiles and conducted a sixth nuclear test, continuing its military ambitions despite strong objections.
