South Korea, DPRK to reopen military hotline

South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) decided to reopen a military hotline along the west coast, Yonhap News Agency quoted officials of Seoul's unification ministry as saying on Thursday. Seoul and Pyongyang made this decision in a sub-committee meeting to discuss reopening of the Kaesong industrial complex. The restoration of the line was one of Seoul's preconditions for reopening the joint park suspended for around five months. "As a preparatory step for the restoration, the two sides plan to make a test call at 9 a.m. (local time) on Friday," Yonhap quoted a ministry official as saying. The military hotline, which allows cross-border travel to the jointly industrial complex, was cut off by the DPRK in March amid soaring tensions on the Korean Peninsula following Pyongyang's third nuclear test on Feb. 1. After Seoul and Pyongyang agreed in principle to normalize the inter-Korean factory park in mid-August, the two Koreas have held several rounds of meetings focusing on management, asset protection and global competitiveness of the joint industrial complex.