SEOUL, July 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) restored their cross-border communication lines that had been severed for over a year, the South Korean presidential Blue House said Tuesday.
The Blue House said in a statement that the two Koreas decided to resume their direct communication hotlines as of 10:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT).
All of the inter-Korean communication lines had been severed since June last year when the DPRK cut off them in protest against Seoul's failure to stop civic activists from sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into the DPRK.
According to the statement, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged personal letters several times since April to communicate about issues on the restored inter-Korean relations.
Moon and Kim agreed first to restore the severed inter-Korean communication lines, the statement noted.
The two leaders also agreed to restore mutual trust and enhance inter-Korean ties as early as possible.
The Blue House said the resumed inter-Korean communication lines would play a positive role in the improvement and the development of the inter-Korean relations. Enditem