As rare high-level talks between South and North Korea are under way, Pyongyang has restored another inter-Korean communication channel. 

An official from Seoul’s Unification Ministry said the North Korean delegation to the high-level dialogue on Tuesday informed its South Korean counterpart that the country had reopened the military communication channel on the western border with North Korea.  

The official said the South confirmed at 2 p.m. Tuesday that the telephone channel was back on line, adding the South will restart the normal operation of the channel from 8 a.m. Wednesday.

The North had cut off two inter-Korean communication channels, including the western border military line after the former Park Geun-hye administration shut down the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in February 2016. The other one, the Panmunjeom liaison channel, was restored last Wednesday as the two Koreas began arranging the inter-Korean talks. 

However, the Unification Ministry official said a technical issue is preventing the resumption of another cross-border military channel near the east coast, which was cut off in 2011 due to a fire.

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