Koreas open renewed military communication lines

By Tony Chang
SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Yonhap) -- The two Koreas on Wednesday opened up crossborder
military hotlines that have been retrofitted with optical cables, government
officials said Wednesday.
"The military hotlines that connect crossborder management areas on the eastern
and western coasts have undergone tests in the last few days and were opened
today," an official at the Unification Ministry said.
Seoul has provided the North with some 850 million won (US$714,000) worth of
communications equipment to modernize crossborder military communication lines
used to issue permission for South Korean citizens traveling to and from the
North. The construction for the update began on Dec. 1.
"The two Koreas will be able to exchange information between crossborder
personnel swiftly and more stably," the official said.
Lines across the west-side of the border are mostly used for those commuting to
the South Korean-run industrial complex in the North's border town of Kaesong,
while the east-side lines are used for Hyundai Asan Corp. staff traveling to the
Mount Kumgang resort on the east coast. With the mountain tours now suspended,
Hyundai keeps a small staff there to maintain the closed resort facilities.
The renovations, agreed upon in 2007 after repeated malfunctions with the older
lines made of copper, were put on hold after inter-Korean relations soured
following the inauguration of Seoul's conservative administration last year.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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