North and South Korea may revive six-party talks

Beijing, Oct 19(ANI): Reactivation of an aviation hotline between North and South Korea is being seen as another move towards restoration of bilateral ties and a potential resumption of the suspended six-party talks.

The two countries reconnected the aviation hotline, connecting the countries' principal international airports, following months of tension on Monday.

It represented the first such contact since Pyongyang severed communications in May over the sinking of the South Korean warship "Cheonan".

"The control centers in Pyongyang and Incheon completed a test call at 9 am," the China Daily quoted South Korea Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung, as saying.

North Korean officials had made it clear on Saturday that they were ready for the resumption of the nuclear proliferation talks.

This is the first time that Pyongyang has changed its rhetoric after threatening to permanently withdraw from the six-party talks in 2009 in protest over international sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear ambitions.

The six-party talks aim to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.

The six participating states are North Korea, South Korea, China, United States, Russia and Japan.

These talks were a result of North Korea withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003.(ANI)