North and South Korea on Monday restored their communication links that the North cut months ago, with Pyongyang calling on Seoul to accelerate efforts to improve ties after denouncing what it called its rival's "double standards" over weapons development.
The reconnection of the hotline was made just days after the North triggered international concern with a flurry of missile tests in just a few weeks, prompting the United Nation Security Council to call for an emergency meeting.
The unification ministry of South Korea confirmed officials from the two sides exchanged their first phone call since August on Monday morning.
In a statement, the ministry said that with the revival of the North-South hotline, the government evaluates that a "foundation for recovering inter-Korean relations has been provided."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his interest last week to restore the communication channel. Pyongyang's state-run KCNA news agency said the hotline was reconnected at 9:00 a.m. Monday.
The two countries had signalled a surprise thaw in relations late July by announcing the reestablishment of cross-border hotlines. But the the easing of hostility was short-lived with North Korea stopping to answer calls just two weeks later.
In the U.S., a State Department representative disclosed that it strongly supports inter-Korean cooperation, calling the restoration of communications "a significant component in creating a more stable environment" on the Korean peninsula.
Liu Xiaoming, the special representative of the Chinese Government on Korean Affairs, described the move to restore communications as "remarkable progress".
The hotlines are a rare mechanism to bring the rivals back together, but it wasn't clear whether their reconnection would result in the dismantling of the North's nuclear programs in return for U.S. easing of sanctions.
Meanwhile, an analyst played down the restoration as a "symbolic" gesture, noting the North's recent missile launches.
"Even if this leads to talks, we may enter a new chapter where the North engages in dialogue but continues to make provocations simultaneously," Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University, said.
The North launched a series of missile tests last month, including a hypersonic weapon and a cruise missile with nuclear capabilities.
South Korea, for its part, also fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile as part of its weapons testing program.
