Seoul makes preparations to resume dialog with Pyongyang

Seoul, Oct 5 (EFE).- South Korea was making preparations to restart talks with North Korea, a day after the telematic lines between the countries were reactivated two months after Pyongyang suspended their use.

“In the first place we will work to manage the communication lines in a stable way, although at the same time there are preparations underway for the restart of the dialogue,” an official from the Unification Ministry told Yonhap agency.

“We are making preparations as to how the issues (on cooperation) are going to be dealt with through dialogue,” he added.

The countries recovered telematic communication after Pyongyang stopped responding to messages from South Korea in early August to protest military maneuvers between Seoul and the United States, which North Korea considers a test to attack its territory.

The reestablishment of lines comes after northern leader Kim Jong-un announced last week he would reactivate them to improve ties and told Seoul that its missile tests – having carried out four in 20 days – aren’t a rehearsed attack on South Korea.

Kim dismissed the US’ dialog offer without preconditions to resume denuclearization negotiations, stalled since 2019, arguing that Washington maintains its “hostile attitude”.

Many analysts are attentive to Pyongyang – after removing Washington from the dialog – and Seoul’s next steps, which faces presidential elections in March and has had to deal with the volatility of relations with the North Korean regime in the last two years.

After the failure of the 2019 Hanoi denuclearization summit, Pyongyang gradually cut relations with South Korea and in the summer of 2020 destroyed the inter-Korean liaison office on its territory to protest anti-regime pamphlets sent by activists from Seoul. EFE

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