ⓒ KBS

South and North Korea restored their military communication line of the West Sea district on Monday, July 16, some 29 months after it was severed along with the shutdown of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. Now, the phone and fax functions of the line are working as normal again, further promoting the ongoing efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Here’s Chung Young-tae, director of the Institute of North Korea Studies. 

The reconnection is highly significant in two ways. First, it will certainly contribute to easing military tensions between the South and the North and building mutual confidence. There is always a possibility of a military clash between the two sides due to non-transparency in their relations, but the restored communication line will minimize that possibility. Secondly, military support is essential for inter-Korean exchanges, especially economic ones. The military communication line will enable the South and the North to carry out bilateral cooperation projects safely and efficiently. 

Military authorities in South and North Korea had established nine communication lines for the purpose of supporting border passage and preventing accidental clashes. They installed phone and fax connections in the West Sea and East Sea lines in 2002 and 2003, respectively, and added another western line in 2005. But the lines could not perform their functions properly for a while. Until the recent restoration, only voice calls were operational for the West Sea line, while the East Sea line was destroyed in a wildfire in 2010. Another western line was unilaterally severed by North Korea in 2008. The disconnected communication lines have been a stumbling block standing in the way of South-North relations, which began to improve in January this year. Considering that cross-border contact, passage and exchanges require security guarantees from South and North Korean military authorities, Seoul and Pyongyang have been making efforts to restore military communication lines since the Panmunjom Declaration adopted at the inter-Korean summit in April. 

In the Panmunjom Declaration, the South and the North agreed to alleviate military tensions and resolve the issue of arms reduction. In line with the agreement, the two sides discussed the swift restoration of military communication lines and the issue of demilitarizing Panmunjom at an inter-Korean general-level meeting last month. They agreed to continue to discuss the demilitarization issue, but one of the communication lines has recently been reconnected. 

During the general-level inter-Korean military talks at Panmunjom on June 14, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to restore West Sea and East Sea district communication lines. They also discussed how to reconnect them at working-level talks on June 25. The problem was that some materials needed for the reconnection, including optical fiber cable transmission equipment, were banned under U.N. sanctions on North Korea. Prior to the restoration, South Korea’s Defense Ministry consulted with the U.N. on whether the provision of the materials violates the U.N. sanctions—the promise with the international community.  

The U.N. Security Council’s sanctions on North Korea have an ultimate goal of solving the North Korean nuclear issue peacefully through denuclearization. No doubt, the reopening of the inter-Korean military communication line is part of efforts to reduce military tensions and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. I think the U.N. Security Council understood the situation in this context and allowed the provision of some equipment, including optical fiber cables, fuel and vehicles, to North Korea, though in a limited way. The U.N.’s decision to impose sanctions on North Korea is, in fact, focused on building peace, and it seems to have approved the provision as an exception to the sanctions. 

The U.N. Security Council prohibits fuel exports to North Korea for military purposes, but the U.N. sanctions provide exceptions when humanitarian need arises. The restoration of the inter-Korean military communication line will lay the foundation for regional peace, and the U.N. allowed the provision of materials needed for the reconnection as an exception to the sanctions. With the decision, South and North Korea are expected to actively implement their military-related agreements stipulated in the Panmunjom Declaration. Already on July 1, the two sides normalized a maritime communication hot line for the first time in ten years. The resumption of the ship-to-ship radio links in the West Sea is aimed at preventing any accidental clashes and defusing military tensions in the waters around the Northern Limit Line, which have been a major flashpoint. In another symbolic move to ease cross-border military tensions, the South Korean military has postponed plans to construct new facilities at military units near the Demilitarized Zone. Attention turns to how the North Korean military will respond. 

When responding to something, North Korea is quite slow in general, for political purposes or due to internal problems. South Korea has made the first move, and the North may drag on for some time before taking its own corresponding measure. For example, North Korea has every reason to be reluctant to agree on demilitarizing Panmunjom, as the nation is concerned about some negative effects on its highly rigid society, such as more defectors and social disorder. South Korea feels free to propose something and create a favorable environment for it, but the North is in a different situation. So, it may take time to actually implement bilateral agreements that have already been reached. South Korea needs to consistently push for the implementation with patience. 

In the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration, the leaders of South and North Korea promised to make joint efforts to ease military tensions and resolve war risks in a practical way. The agreement will be meaningful when both the South and the North put it into action, although it may take time. Following the reconnection of the military communication line, the two sides will hopefully take a step forward in building mutual trust.