Hotline between leaders of two Koreas cut for first time since establishment in 2018

Arirang News 2020-06-09

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문 대통령 책상 위 남북정상 '핫라인' 2년만에 단절

The communication lines severed by North Korea includes the hotline between the leaders of the two Koreas established in 2018.
Although this will be a disappointment for the Moon administration, this is hardly the first time the North has cut off contact with the South since communication was first established in 1971.
Kim Min-ji reports.
The hotline between the leaders of South and North Korea is out of service for the first time since it was set up two years ago.
Although it was never officially used,... it's had a symbolic meaning.
The line was established in 2018, just before the first summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea has severed three other communication lines as well the one between the liaision offices, the military hotline... and the one used to test those lines.
But... possibly leaving room for communication the North made no mention of whether it would also be cutting a line that connects the South's intel agency and the North's United Front Department in charge of inter-Korean affairs.
There's also a working line between North Korea and UN Command.
Communications between the two Koreas have been cut off and restored several times since they were first established in 1971.
Each time it was the North that cut them.
In 2008 it was in retaliation for South Korea's co-sponsoring of a UN resolution on the regime's human rights abuses.
In 2010... after Seoul imposed sanctions in response to the North's sinking of the warship Cheonan.
Again in 2013 in response to sanctions by the UN... and joint military drills by South Korea and the U.S.
And once more in 2016... after South Korea's exit from the Gaesong Industrial Complex, which it did in response to the regime's long-range missile test.
The latest development is without a doubt a disappointment for the Moon administration, which has been seeking rapprochement with North Korea.
President Moon has reached out to the North several times to get inter-Korean relations back on track,... and he extended an offer of cooperation on COVID-19 but has yet to get a response.
Seoul's top office isn't expected to take any immediate action, but rather, monitor the situation and analyze the North's intentions. Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.

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