Hotline Between Two Koreas: Status, Limitations and Future Task
On 8 March, a new special report was published written by APLN Vice-Chair, Professor Chung-in Moon and Institute for North Korean Studies Research Fellow Seung-Chan Boo on the hotline between the DPRK and ROK.
The authors provide a historical overview of the inter-Korean hotline and assess its present status. They argue that the hotline is an important confidence-building measure and has played a key role in not only preventing accidental military clashes and unintended conflict escalation but in facilitating exchange and cooperation between the two Koreas. They recommend that:
- The issue of the hotline should be incorporated as an integral part of nuclear negotiations.
- Every effort must be made to restore broken communication lines between Seoul and Pyongyang.
- The DPRK’s communications infrastructure must be modernized and upgraded with the adoption of the CATALINK hotline considered.
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