Feuding Koreas to open modern military hotlines

Seoul: North and South Korea plan to open new, updated hotlines between their militaries next week to facilitate border crossings, an official said Tuesday.

The announcement reflected cooperation between the sides just a day after the North threatened South Korean ships with possible attacks.

The hotlines serve as a key mode of communication between military officials from the two Koreas, which technically remain at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

Crossings at the border mostly involve officials and workers from the South crossing to the North to a joint industrial complex.

The divided countries have nearly finished connecting fibre-optic cables across their heavily fortified border and will test the nine communication channels later this week before formally opening them next week.

The move comes two months after the South provided the North with communication equipment and other materials to help its communist neighbour modernise the hotlines.

The fiber-optic cables will be laid near nine outdated copper cable hot lines, some of which the North cut off in 2008, citing technical problems, before restoring them, according to the ministry.

The communication lines are likely to "improve convenience of our people's border crossings", allowing the two Koreas to exchange information quickly and efficiently, Chun said.