The two Koreas were found to have maintained an emergency hotline during the Kim Dae-jung administration to address key bilateral issues.

Former Unification Minister Lim Dong-won said in his memoir released Monday the hotline was set up four days after the first inter-Korean summit in June 2000. Lim said it was working until the last day of the Kim Dae-jung government, adding that it was pivotal in resolving South-North issues.

According to Lim, the North expressed regret through the hotline over the June 2002 naval clash in the West Sea that resulted in the deaths of six South Korean sailors. The South, for its part, then asked the North to issue a formal apology and work to prevent similar conflicts.

The former minister said he visited the North in April 2002 as the president’s special envoy. During that trip he conveyed then-President Kim’s invitation for North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to visit the South.

In response, the reclusive North Korean leader proposed holding a summit in a third country or holding a trilateral summit with Russia to discuss the linking of the Trans-Siberian Railway.