WORLD
Two Koreas fully restore western military communication line
Baku, July 17, AZERTAC
South and North Korea fully restored their military communication line on the western part of the peninsula Tuesday, Seoul's defense ministry said, a step to build confidence and reduce cross-border tensions, according to Yonhap news agency.
The complete restoration of fax and phone connections was part of an agreement from last month's inter-Korean general-grade military talks, the first such meeting in more than a decade.
The western line was suspended in 2016 following Seoul's shutdown of the inter-Korean industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong, but its telephone link was restored in January ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, where the North participated.
For the restoration work, the South provided the North with necessary materials, such as optical fiber cable transmission equipment and fax machines following consultations with the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) and the U.S. government to avoid any breach of the current sanctions regime.
The UNSC has reportedly approved the provision as an exception to the sanctions regime.
