- The two Koreas restored their hotlines that the North severed months ago. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his willingness last week to reactivate the hotlines.
- The South confirmed that twice-daily regular communication was restarted on time via military hotlines and others run by the Unification Ministry, except for the navy channel set up on an international network for merchant ships.
- The hotlines have contributed to preventing unexpected clashes and their reopening would hopefully lead to substantive easing of military tension.
- The Unification Ministry, responsible for inter-Korean affairs, expressed hopes that it would be able to resume dialogue soon on ways to recover relations and foster peace.