The two Koreas on Friday officially opened a naval hotline as agreed in working-level talks on maritime cooperation earlier in the week.

Under an inter-Korean maritime agreement that took effect on August 1st, the cable communications network linking the two navies will report accidents, injuries and other sea emergencies or request approval for ship passage.

Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hong-jae said Pyongyang on Friday asked for approval via the new hotline for a North Korean vessel scheduled to pass through South Korean waters Monday.

The North seeks to have its merchants ships pass through the South's waters on the occasion of Liberation Day Monday.

Terrestrial telephone links are expected to promote inter-Korean communication, which had relied on radio to avoid sea clashes.