China welcomes reopening of Korean border hotline, but US is sceptical

Analysts say reopening border hotline could be a calculated move by Kim Jong-un to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington

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A South Korean government official checks the direct communications hotline to talk with the North Korean side in the border village of Panmunjeom on Wednesday. Photo: Yonhap via AP

Published: 11:00pm, 3 Jan 2018Updated: 9:58am, 5 Jan 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reopened a cross-border communication channel with South Korea on Wednesday nearly two years after it was disabled, prompting a mixed response from Beijing and the US-led alliance against Pyongyang’s nuclear provocations.

While Beijing welcomed the reopening of the border hotline as a positive sign from the North following months of inflamed tensions, Washington was sceptical about Pyongyang’s rare overture.

The hotline system, located in the truce village of Panmunjeom, was cut by Kim in February 2016 when relations deteriorated over a dispute involving the Kaesong industrial complex, which was jointly operated by both countries.

It was restored on Wednesday, a day after Seoul proposed high-level talks next week to find ways to cooperate on next month’s Winter Olympics in the South and discuss other Korean issues.

It marked a softening in tone by Pyongyang and possible thawing of relations between the two Koreas, but analysts cautioned that it could be a calculated move by Kim to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington, as a way to weaken their alliance and international sanctions.

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