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A representative from the South Korea Ministry of Unification speaks on the hotline between South and North Korea with a North Korean counterpart at the inter-Korean liaison office. (provided by the Ministry of Unification)

The direct hotlines between South and North Korea were restored Tuesday 413 days after they had been cut off — but news of the restoration does not appear to have been shared right away with the North Korean public.

Of the six pages of the Wednesday edition of the North’s state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper, five were given to reports on the 7th National Conference of War Veterans and the text of leader Kim Jong-un’s speech there. In contrast, there were no reports at all on the inter-Korean hotlines.

There were also no related reports for a second straight day on Korean Central Television or the Korean Central Broadcasting radio network.

But the North did report on the inter-Korean hotlines’ restoration at 11 am Tuesday through its Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and Radio Pyongyang. Both KCNA and Radio Pyongyang are externally oriented channels inaccessible to ordinary North Koreans.

This suggests the top leadership in Pyongyang decided the time was not yet right to inform the North Korean general public about the hotlines being restored.

Given the uncertainties surrounding the political situation, it may have concluded that it would be premature to suggest to the public that inter-Korean relations were emerging from their long impasse and heading in the direction of dialogue and cooperation.

In that sense, its reticence may be a safeguard of sorts intended to grant Pyongyang the flexibility to change the content and direction of its messaging among the Korean Peninsula negotiations — and conflicts — to come.

Following a statement on June 4 of last year by Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee Deputy Director Kim Yo-jong, North Korean authorities moved on June 9 to completely disconnect the inter-Korean direct hotlines in response to the scattering of leaflets by defector groups in the South.

They also demolished the inter-Korean joint liaison office building in Kaesong on June 16, while organizing “indignation rallies” to promote a sense of antagonism toward the South among the North Korean public.

The South Korean Ministry of Unification and Ministry of National Defense both said Wednesday morning that the hotlines functioned normally in initial calls with North Korea, echoing their statements from the day before.

The military communication line operated normally for the West Sea region in a call made at 9 am, while the East Sea region’s line remained unconnected due to technical issues.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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