DPRK reopens hotline with ROK in middle of Korean Peninsula

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) re-opened the hotline in its truce village of Panmunjom on Jan 3 amid rising expectations for the DPRK's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in the ROK.

In his New Year's speech, DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-un said the DPRK will take necessary measures to prepare for participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics in February.

The inter-Korean hotline was suspended after Seoul closed an industrial park in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong following Pyongyang's nuclear test in January 2016.