Korea reunited? Seoul and Pyongyang SPEAK after North Korea’s Kim Jong-un demands dialogue

The South’s Unification Ministry said the two Koreas were communicating via a radio channel at the border village of Panmunjom on Wednesday after Kim Jong-un shocked the world by saying he was “open to dialogue” with Seoul and hoped to send a team to the Winter Olympics, set to be held in Pyeongchang next month.

The Ministry’s statement said officials were trying to determine whether the communication lines between the two countries were still operational.

The two nations have not held high-level talks since December 2015 after North Korea cut off the communications channel and refused to answer calls, according to officials in Seoul.

South Korea reportedly tries to make contact with the North at least once a day.

Since high-level talks last took place Kim Jong-un’s regime has fired a whopping 47 missiles and conducted three nuclear tests.

A North Korean official announced the hotline’s reopening in a televised statement on Tuesday, telling viewers: “We will discuss working-level issues over our potential dispatch of the delegation.” 

South Korea has welcomed the North’s change in tone, with a presidential spokesman describing the opening of the border hotline is a “significant development”.

Kim Jong-un used his New Year address to suggest he was willing to work to bring an end the tensions on the Korean peninsula and open a dialogue with South Korea.

He said: “The Winter Olympic games that will be held soon in the South will be a good opportunity to display the status of the Korean nation and we sincerely wish that the event will be held with good results.”

However, Kim Jong-un’s New Year address gave no indication that the hermit nation is planning to give up its nuclear and missile programmes, with the dictator warning Donald Trump he has a “nuclear button” on his desk.

He told the nation: “We must mass-produce nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles and speed up their deployment.

“We should always keep readiness to take immediate nuclear counter-attacks against the enemy’s scheme for a nuclear war.

“The US should know that the button for nuclear weapons is on my table. This is reality, not a threat. 

“The entire area of the US mainland is within our nuclear strike range. The United States can never start a war against me and our country.”

In response, President Trump mocked the Korean leader on Twitter in a clear indication that the apparent improvement in ties between the Koreas will not be matched by a thawing of the hostile relationship between North Korea and the US.

Mr Trump tweeted: “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.’ Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”