UN officials welcome reopening of comm b/w two Koreas

United Nations, Jan 4: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the reopening of the communication channel between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea, his deputy spokesman has said.

“It is always good to have a dialogue between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea,” Farhan Haq told reporters on Wednesday in response to a question during the daily news briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.
He went on to say that the UN remains committed to ensuring the implementation of Security Council resolutions on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. “We hope that enhanced diplomatic initiatives will help achieve this goal,” he added.
According to media reports, DPRK announced Wednesday the reopening of a channel of communication, the day after the offer of dialogue made by the Government of the Republic of Korea.
This communication channel, established in August 1972, was cut in February 2016 by Pyongyang after Seoul decided to close the inter-Korean industrial zone of Kaesong, in the wake of a nuclear test by the DPRK.
Meanwhile, the President of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, Miroslav Lajčák, met today with Ja Song Nam, the Permanent Representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the United Nations, at the request of the Permanent Representative.
According to a note issued by the Assembly President's Office, Mr Lajčák said he was pleased with the readiness of DPRK to constructively engage in a dialogue with the Republic of Korea, including a possible participation of a delegation from DPRK in the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, Republic of Korea, as well as with the reopening of the communication channels. UNI