Following a controversial tweet from President Donald Trump on Tuesday night, North Korea announced that they were opening up communication channels with South Korea about the ongoing turmoil in the Korean Peninsula. The announcement from Kim Jong Un comes a day after South Korea proposed coordinating talks with North Korea about the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Yonhap News Agency reports:
North Korea said Wednesday that it will reopen the suspended inter-Korean communication line later in the day after leader Kim Jong-un extended an overture toward Seoul.
The head of North Korea’s agency handling inter-Korean affairs announced that it will open the dialogue channel at the shared border village of Panmunjeom at 3:00 p.m. (Pyongyang time), according to the state-run radio station.
The announcement came after Trump fired back at North Korea in response to Kim Jong Un threatening the United States on New Year’s day. Trump tweeted: “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.’ Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”
Leaders from both North and South Korea responded positively to the reopening of communications which is a sign of de-escalating tensions in a region that has been on edge for years over the threat of nuclear conflict.
North Korea shut down communications with South Korea two years ago under former President Barack Obama.
