Despite animosities between the two Koreas, South Korea said today it's been actively seeking to improve ties and resume talks with North Korea. This, despite the North's warning against U.S.-South Korean military drills.
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Last night, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister warned the aforementioned U.S.-South Korean military drills would seriously undermine efforts to restore stability to the Korean Peninsula. Her statement raised a question as to whether North Korea is willing to reopen long-stalled communication channels with South Korea.
South Korea's Defence Ministry said today that details of the drills must be determined by both South Korean and U.S. authorities. Boo Seung-Chan reiterated that Seoul and Washington are examining factors like the pandemic's status, diplomatic efforts to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions and South Korea-U.S. military readiness.
Despite that, South Korea and the U.S. have cancelled or downsized some of their military training lately to support the now-dormant talks on denuclearisation in the Korean Peninsula.
Inter-Korean ties flourished on the heels of the Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam in 2018. But the ties immediately worsened after North Korea cut off ties with South Korea as the U.S.-North Korean talks stalled in 2019.
Last Tuesday, the two Koreas restored their phone and fax lines after a 13-month hiatus, somehow signalling that inter-Korean ties are improving.
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